Two Hearts
by Nyaena
Summary: What does one do after fighting a war? What does one do after getting a second chance at living life? We start a new life in the American Wizarding World, and meet a voluptuous red head with a bold and saucy attitude, that's what! Possible Future SMUT alert.
1. The Heart Ache

_The pain of the venom was unbearable. It coursed through his veins like fire, spreading quickly and causing his body to shut down rapidly. The boy, his face swam into his blurred vision. All he could make out were those piercing green eyes. His mother's eyes. It was too much as he uttered his last words staring into those wonderful eyes. He could feel the end was near. His final plan was failing, but he felt a sense of peace as his head fell to the side, his eyes becoming heavy with sleep._

* * *

Adeline was a whirlwind of fury as she rushed out the door, slamming the door behind her.

"Adeline! Wait! I can explain!" A man scrambling desperately to pull up his pants rushed after her. He was a rather fit looking young man with sun kissed glowing skin. His short brown hair was tousled and messy. He stumbled down the white painted porch of a small blue town home.

"You can explain?" Adeline turned on her heel, her voice seething like living fire. "You can explain why your tiny stick of a secretary from work was riding you cowboy style in your bed? This I have to hear."

Adeline glanced behind the man and saw the tall blonde try to slink out from the door carrying a shirt and coat.

"Please, Adeline! It was an accident. Things just sort of got out of control."

The sun felt unusually hot as Adeline shot daggers with her eyes, trying to control her threatening temper. She had to control it or she would get in trouble.

"So you just fell into her and then fell out and then fell back in? How long have you been boinking her? How many others have you boinked?" Adeline's voice had risen to high pitched hysterics, and she didn't give a damn that the neighbors were starting to look out from their windows or poke their heads out from their gardens.

"Only her…a couple of times."

Adeline clenched her fist, "Why? What is she to you?"

"She's around Adeline! That's all."

"She's around? And I'm not?"

"No you're not! You're always at the school!"

"Don't—" Adeline suddenly lowered her voice to a whisper. "Don't talk about that out here."

"I don't give a damn if the neighbors hear! You're never here! You only come to see me late at night when the students are in bed and you don't have patrols! Natalie…"

"Twiggy has a name does she?"

"Natalie, is around all the time. I work with her, I have lunches with her. She's become more than a bootie call at night. You once were too."

"You know what I am. You know what duties I have to my people." Adeline felt a sharp pang in her chest.

"To your people." The man raked his hands through his hair, ignoring Natalie who seemed to start saying something about a tail. "Your people. See this is why it won't work. You label us as flippin' muggles, like you're higher than us. It was great at the start Adeline, but you and I are so different. Too different in fact. I don't think I can be with a witch. Not anymore."

Adeline's willpower cracked, but despite being able to resist from grabbing her wand Natalie had grown a donkey tail and extremely large teeth that were protruding from her mouth. Natalie began weeping uncontrollably capturing the attention of not only her new boyfriend but also the neighbors.

"Enjoy the STD's asshole." Adeline turned on her heel once again, her back to the scene of a woman changing into a donkey.

"Adeline, change her back! Change her back right now!"

Adeline had Disapparated from the scene, her now ex-boyfriends voice echoing in her head.

Adeline Apparated in front of a rather large building made of stone and large pillars. Across the top it said BUSINESS in large capital gold letters. Adeline sighed as walked up the steps and entered the building to find a woman secretary sitting at a rather large desk made out of black and silver granite. Adeline strolled up to the desk and sighed inwardly.

"I'm here to turn myself in."

The secretary looked up with small brown eyes and perfectly curled brown hair. "Do you have an appointment?"

A loud crack had both the secretary and Adeline turning their attention to a letter that had appeared beside Adeline's feet. She picked up the letter, opening it hastily before giving it to the secretary.

"Oh. Miss Adeline Hall, please head down to the fifth floor."

Adeline nodded and looked over to the elevator doors that opened as she walked towards them. She entered the elevator and pressed the button to go down to the fifth floor. She grabbed a hold of the "oh shit" handle as Adeline thought of it just before the elevator lurched downward. It didn't take very long but the knot in Adeline's stomach grew. She had broken the law and out of rage had turned a helpless snake of a woman into a donkey. Though she completely deserved it, she still felt a twinge of guilt.

The elevator came to a halt with the gold doors opening wide to reveal a beautiful open space of sleek cream marble floors with the sun pouring through the skylight the encompassed the entire ceiling. The large space looked like a giant solarium, with a large tree in the middle with glittering green leaves.

"This must be the wrong floor." Adeline muttered out loud as she took a step forward into the sunlight. It no longer felt like it was burning her skin. Instead she felt peaceful and serene.

Out of the corner of her eye she caught a glimpse of two men walking out from behind the tree. Both seemed to be discussing something rather amusing but both glanced over at Adeline and smiled.

She recognized both men immediately as she got closer. One man in the traditional silver robes and a silver hat to match was the Principal of the school she worked at and her Uncle. The other was the President of the American Ministry of Magic. His robes were a simple black with silver trimming and gold circles around the trim. Both of the men were older than she was by a lot.

"Ah, Miss Adeline Hall, how are you doing today my dear?" The President asked.

"I've been better Mister President." Adeline replied feeling the knot in her stomach growing larger by the second.

"Yes, I would imagine so. The woman is fine. We took care of it as soon as you Apparated in front of the Ministry."

"That's a relief. I shouldn't have—I just couldn't stop myself." Adeline sighed pushing a hand through her hair.

"You didn't kill her, but we have taken the liberty of erasing their memories. We aren't going to punish you Adeline, it happens. Just continue your training with your Uncle Davis and we should be fine. I know that Harry Potter boy blew up his Aunt once. It happens to the best of us." The President clapped a hand on Adeline's back smiling. "Now if you don't mind, I have some important business to attend to. Principal Davis, a pleasure as always."

Adeline stood beside Davis and watched as the President walked into the elevator.

"What did you have to do to keep him from punishing me?" Adeline asked watching the doors close.

"Nothing. As he said you didn't kill anyone Adeline. Turning a muggle into an animal happens-occasionally."

"So every time I have a boyfriend who cheats on me, it just happens?" Adeline asked turning her head up at the tall older gentleman.

He looked down at her with kind brown eyes, his long silver beard glistening slightly from the sunlight. "You have horrible taste in men, my dear."

Adeline chuckled slightly ignoring the ache in her heart. "I always choose those body building muggles."

"Muggles aren't necessarily the problem in your taste in men, Adeline. Your father was a muggle."

"I know Uncle."

"You also do know you don't need to follow your mother's footsteps exactly. Just because she wanted to teach at the school doesn't mean you have to. Having said that, you don't have to keep chasing after muggles either."

"I love teaching at the school Uncle. It's really all I live for. Which is something he pointed out."

Davis nodded as he looked up at the tree, "It's noticeable that you love your students and your job. It's that much more since you live at the school year round and you have little time to spare. Hopefully that will change this year. I've hired on more staff at the castle. It should help with the workload."

"I'm assuming the reason you are doing that is that there is an increase of students who have been accepted to the wonderful 'Bells Magic Academy'?"

"Our establishment has been growing since pilgrims first came to this country." Davis smirked, "But yes, our students are increasing. I will have you continue teaching Transfiguration."

"And the Dark Arts?"

"You will be sharing the class with our new Potions Master."

"Poor Mister Blaine. That really was a stupid bet."

"Well he was the one who insisted on wrestling with those magic gators." Davis sniffed as he shook his head. "His limbs will come back in time. But while we wait, there's a favor I need to ask of you."

"A favor, let me guess it pertains to this Potions Master?"

"It does actually. He's not from America. He's from England."

"From England? Why are you hiring from overseas? There's plenty of brilliant Potions Master's here." Adeline raised an eyebrow in interest.

"There will be a time when I will tell you Adeline, but for now, I can tell you nothing."

"Oh Uncle, you are just the meanest. You are aware that now I will go out of my way to find out what's going on."

"I do know my dear, but trust me, you won't be able to figure it out for a while. In the mean time while you ponder my latest scheme, I need you to go to the airport in two days and pick up our new Potions Master. If he wants to explore Denver let him. I'm sure he will need to get some supplies from Jinxpoint Market."

"You want me to babysit a new teacher?"

"He's quite the old man, Adeline. I highly doubt he would need babysitting. However he might need some company."

"Old man huh? And here I was hoping you have a new boy toy for me to play with."

"Sorry my pet. I would do this myself if I didn't have things to do. I know he'll be safe in your hands. I trust you with this."

Adeline sighed, wrapping her arms around her waist. "I'll do it for you Uncle. Just tell me he won't grope my ass, and we won't have a problem."

Davis chuckled, "You won't have any problems with this man. In fact he might shy away from you."

"Oh that's great. A real confidence booster." Adeline rolled her eyes.

Davis' eyes twinkled, "Shall we get some lunch at Lady Bell's?"

"Sounds like a good idea to me. I just need to get some stuff done before hand if that's okay."

"Let me guess, you're going to check on one of your former students while you're here?"

"I have to make sure he's dotting his I's. Little brat had the messiest handwriting I've ever seen. Meet you there in ten minutes." Adeline smiled as she walked for the elevator.

"Wait before I go, what is this new teacher's name?"

"Rus Prince."

Adeline cringed, "That's a horrible name. Who names their kid Rus?"

"People who don't want to stick out." Davis muttered to himself as the elevator doors closed.

Adeline slumped against the wall of the elevator as it went further down. She could crack jokes all day and no one would possibly know how much her heart was hurting. Then again her Uncle knew from experience that she didn't enjoy talking about her break ups. She knew she was dedicated to her students and to her job. It was always her fault for not making work. This wasn't the worst break up she had, but it wasn't the best either. Each one in the end caused her to become more sarcastic and maybe add another inch to her figure.

Adeline shook her head and fought the oncoming pity party. She had to focus on the upcoming task. A new old man Potions Master. Whom she would have to share a class of Dark Arts. He probably had a massive stick up his ass with a long flowing beard like her Uncle. Maybe he was a little grouchy and strict too. And had ugly glasses.

Adeline frowned. The image she was creating in her head was making her hate this Potions Master before she even met him.

"Merlin I hope he's not a grouchy man."

* * *

**Oh Shelley, Shelley, Shelley. After much debate I have decided to write a Snape Fanfic. All because of you chica. **

**I don't guarantee long chapters, and I don't guarantee updates every week as I am a very busy woman, but I will try my best. **

**Please comment and/or subscribe to the story if you enjoy the first chapter! I love, love, love reviews. Even if it's a smiley face.**


	2. The Niece

Severus' back felt stiff as he shifted in his seat. The airplane ride was frustrating. He sat next to a rather large man wearing too much cologne and he talked loudly the entire trip. Beside the rather large man was his rather large wife who complained that the food didn't meet her dietary needs. Severus couldn't help but wonder what diet she could possibly be on. She and her husband were so large it looked as if they might start spilling into each other. It was luckily for Severus that he was thinner than they were because they started spilling into his seat.

He stared out the window as the plane landed. He watched the people with what looked like little lights on sticks waving the plane forward into position.

"You coming back home from Europe?" The rather large man asked as the flight attendant started speaking into the intercom system for them to wait patiently as the plane lined up.

'I don't see how it's any of your concern.' Is what Severus wanted to say, but he refrained from doing so instead giving a small nod with an uncharacteristic smile.

"Well, welcome back. The wife and I are from Texas, we're going to visit her mom for a bit after our trip to Europe. I have to say, it was really quite amazing to see all those Brits driving on the wrong side of the road." The fat man laughed at himself as Severus turned his attention back to the outside of the plane. "And they fact that they call French fries chips! Haha, I've never been more confused in my life!"

Severus' tried to focus really hard on watching the dock connect with the side of the plane. This man was nothing but an idiot to him, and yet here he was trying his best not to say anything at all that might provoke the man. He had no desire to draw attention to himself.

"Do you have a wife at home?" The man asked suddenly.

Severus clenched his left hand, making sure the man didn't see. "No." He said in his best American accent.

"That's a shame! Well don't worry sonny, you'll find her. My wife and I are high school sweet hearts! We've been together since the beginning and haven't left since."

The flight attendant made another announcement that the plane was docked and everyone would be able to leave the plane with their luggage.

Severus was suddenly grateful that he was in the first row of coach as Mister and Missus Tubby squeezed themselves out of their seats and shuffle to grab their carry-on luggage from the bins above. Severus waited patiently even though a throb in his temple told him his head was about to start aching. He looked at his passport to distract himself. Wizard's had no use for such an item, but in order to get into America he had one forged along with the necessary documents to prove he was an American citizen.

Mister and Missus Tubby finally began to move off the plane allowing Severus to grab a small suitcase and a handbag. He finally made his way off the plane and onto the docking area feeling a slight knot in his stomach as the throbbing in his temple continued to nag at him.

He continued on out from the docking area and felt the knot in his stomach turn. He quickly shook off the feeling as people walked past him. He was not some pubescent school boy. He was a man. This shouldn't affect him at all. He sighed as he dug into the pocket of his black trousers and pulled out the letter from Principal Davis. He reread the crimson handwriting and felt a little annoyed that his niece would be picking him up. The man described his niece as a rather buxom red head with blue eyes and was instructed by her Uncle to wear a wizard's robe so that Severus could identify her.

'Buxom is code for fat. Everyone here seems to be larger than they should be.' Severus thought to himself as he made his way to the bathroom. There was only one man in there who was shaving himself in the sink much to Severus' surprise. He had no idea muggles shaved in public places. But he understood why they did as soon as he turned to his own reflection. He looked scruffy with a dark beard and mustache. It was still strange for him to see himself in such a manner. It almost offended him as he stared back at himself. He had cut his hair a shorter length so it was no longer in his face as much but still had subtle waves curling up at his ear. He had also used his magic to straighten his teeth and make them whiter. He didn't change his nose though. He couldn't bring himself to do it. His facial features could be covered up but this was the one thing that he felt made him, him.

He barely recognized himself, as he had been living in the forest for quite some time, away from all forms of civilization. But he had to be sure no one recognized him. 'It was for the best.' He thought as he opened his small suitcase and pulled out a black robe. He had brought all that he had with him, which ended up being mostly undergarments and trousers, but this was the last of his robes that had survived the forest, and if he was honest with himself he really had nothing else with him. Nothing.

Ignoring the depressing thought he pulled the robe over himself and for a small moment recognized himself. He gave a small smile at his reflection before closing his small suitcase and trying to find the dumpy red headed niece of Principal Davis.

He followed the signs to the meeting place and got confused once or twice before he was actually able to find it. He took slow paced steps as he scanned the sea of people greeting and hugging loved ones returning from vacations and was shocked when he saw it.

The buxom red headed niece was actually buxom in a rather curvaceous way. Her red hair hung in wild spirals to her shoulders, framing her face perfectly. She had pale skin that would have made anyone think she could have been a statue if not for her rosy undertones to her skin that seemed to make the bright blue of her eyes twinkle. She wore deep crimson red robes cinched by a velvet black corset that made her voluptuous figure even more noticeable. So noticeable that the men around her kept glancing her way with heated desire in their eyes. One man was even drooling as he stared at her from a bench.

'Walk, Severus, she is just a woman.'

As he got closer he noticed she was practically starting to bust out of her robe and she clearly knew she didn't need any jewelry around her neck to draw attention to that general area. She ignored the men, still glancing around in confusion. Severus frowned. Did Principal Davis not tell her what he looked like? He continued to walk forward to her when it became apparent that she realized who he was. Severus could still see the confusion across her face as he made his way to her.

She started walking toward him, he half expected her to strut, swaying those hips back and forth. The confusion seemed to melt from her face as she got closer replacing an easy smile.

"When my Uncle told me to look for an old man I was thinking of someone more –" Adeline paused, "Old. You look like you're my age."

"And how old are you?" Severus asked, no longer using a fake American accent.

"You really shouldn't ask a woman that question but I'll be turning thirty two this November."

"Then I suppose you are close to my age then. I just turned forty."

Adeline chuckled, "I think perhaps my Uncle doesn't understand what an old man is. He must be getting senile. Did you need to pick up your other bag?"

Severus suddenly felt slightly embarrassed, "This is all I have." He mumbled.

Adeline caught it, having to deal with rather shy little boys and girls most of the time. "Well then I suppose we will have to head to Jinxpoint Market. We can pick up any supplies and clothing that you wish from there."

Adeline took note of a faint blush across Severus' ears. "Don't worry, my Uncle gave me quite a bit of gold to get your affairs in order. I'm Adeline by the way." Adeline smiled gently as she outstretched her hand. Severus took her hand and felt a warm sense of peace rush through his body.

"Rus." He stated simply pushing the feeling away by dropping her hand quickly.

"Well let's get a move on. I will try to not ask stupid questions, although I will say this, I'm not stupid. Rus isn't your real name, however my Uncle didn't tell me who you really are, and I won't ask unless you want me to." Adeline noticed how fast he dropped her hand and felt slightly irritated.

Severus was shocked by her bluntness and was also shocked that her Uncle hadn't told her anything. He quickly masked his surprise, "I don't want you to ask."

"Aw, you're no fun. Alright party pooper, let's head to Jinxpoint Market before it's teeming with vast amounts of teenagers. I'm assuming you've Apparated before?" Adeline paused, turning to look at the scowl across Severus' face. "Of course you have. We just need a more secluded place. Ah! There's one." Adeline pointed behind an escalator.

Severus followed a few steps behind, but immediately cursed himself for doing so as his gaze wandered to her hips. He looked away quickly, paying careful attention to the posters on the walls about airport safety. They had stood behind the escalator for a couple of seconds before Adeline linked her arm under his and smiled. "Here we go."

A pop noise echoed in a large alleyway as they appeared in Jinxpoint Market. Severus was amazed that it was nothing like Diagon. Each building was spacious and was carved from stone and the market itself was large as well, giving plenty of room for people to walk around without feeling like a fish swimming upstream. It had American sheen that Severus had seen at the airport. Clean and large. The only similarity was that it had witches and wizards wandering and chattering in brightly colored robes and some in pointed hats. Others were carrying cauldrons full of supplies or carried a pet. It was foreign and suddenly made Severus ache for the familiarity of home.

"Where would you like to go first?" Adeline asked waving her hand like she was offering him the whole place.

"I need new robes, but I can do that myself."

"What I can't sneak a peek?" Adeline rolled her eyes before pulling out her wand and opening her clutch. "Accio pouch."

A black leather pouch of gold coins popped out of the clutch. Adeline grabbed it and handed it to Severus with a smile. "There's enough in there to buy the store. I'm going over to Blotters and Ink which is that building with the rather large feather quill and gold lettering across the building. The robe shop is Moon's Robes just left of the wand shop Mystic Wood's. Come and find me when you are finished getting your robes." Adeline said turning on her heel.

"Wait. The whole store?" Severus asked as he looked down at the leather pouch. "Why?"

"My Uncle's instructions are to get you supplies, Rus. I don't know what happened to you, but judging by the fact that you have a small suitcase and a handbag of what I assume are books, I think it's safe for me to say that you came with nothing. Unless I'm wrong and you have an Undetectable Extension Charm on those bags?" Adeline looked up into those cold black eyes and suddenly saw a flicker of gratefulness. "Come find me once you are finished, Rus."

With that Severus watched her walk down the street and into Blotters and Ink and felt like a weight had been lifted as he held the pouch of coins in his hand. He looked around for a bit before he found Moon's Robes. As he entered he was greeted by a rather slim looking witch with her blonde and graying hair in a tight bun.

"Good afternoon, sir. What can I help you with today?"

"I'm going to need a new set of robes."

"Perfect, well set your luggage down over here in the seating area so we can get you measured."

Severus did as he was instructed and walked over to a large three way mirror. "Alright, did you have a color in mind?"

It occurred to Severus he was unaware if the teachers had a specific dress code. "I'm uncertain. I am starting a new job at Bells Magical Academy."

"Congratulations." The woman smiled, "Teacher's don't have uniforms. They wear what they want, unlike the students. They have uniforms and once they join their Faction after their first year, they have emblems put onto their uniforms. My grandson Jeremy goes there. He chose to join the Phoenix Lord's Faction. I couldn't have been more proud of him. My entire family has chosen the Phoenix Lord's Faction." The woman paused as she looked Severus up and down. "You don't sound like you're from here, are you from England?" The woman asked as she began measuring Severus.

"Yes. I'd prefer black robes much like the one I am wearing if possible. What other Factions are there?" Severus asked changing the subject away from himself.

"Let see well there's the Phoenix Lord's as I've already said. Then there's Dragon Sire's, Wolf Count's and Kraken King's. The Phoenix Lord's represent the element of fire, Dragon Sire's represent the air, Wolf Count's represent earth, and the Kraken King's represent the water. Each Faction has it strengths and students usually choose which one they are interested in the most."

"Usually?"

"Yes, well sometimes students want to be in more than one Faction. If it comes to that the Leader's of the Faction will test the student to see which one they truly belong in. The Phoenix Lord's represent loyalty and courage. Most of them protect the castle or patrol along with a teacher. I guess you could consider them a warrior Faction and they are usually in charge of the Duel Club. The Dragon Sire's represent diplomacy and debate. They can be very social and usually set up what school events and clubs are available for the school year, of course they put everything to a vote. They also sometimes try to change rules, but of course the Principal has the final say in everything they do. The Wolf Count's represent the physical and mental essence of a person."

"Essence?"

"Well it sounds better than saying health guru's and jocks , now doesn't it?" The woman huffed. "They are the 'essence' of physical and mental activities. They enjoy competitions and sportsmen like events, but they also practice things like yoga and meditation for the mind. I think it's just because they have the most werewolves that join and it seems to help calm them down."

"Werewolves?" Severus' teeth clenched as he thought of Remus Lupin. "Isn't that dangerous?"

"Where have you been living these past few years? Under a rock? The werewolves each have their draughts made by the Kraken King's every cycle to make sure the student body is safe. Maybe that's not how you do it in England, but we want all of our witches and wizards werewolf or not to have a proper education in America. Besides, the Wolf Count's also teach how to be Animagus to keep the werewolves company, and are immediately licensed once they pass their test. Last but not least are the Kraken King's, they are the most intelligent of the Faction's, but I suppose that's my opinion. They represent creation. The Faction creates new spells, new potions and occasionally have a few Seers, and when I say few, I mean maybe one or two actual Seers every couple of years. Where they are intelligent, they lack social skills though. Some are almost completely devoid of emotion. Or at least that's what I thought when I was in school." The lady paused as she brought up her wand and flicked it toward a roll of black fabric that began to form around Severus. "Having said all this I believe each Faction has its flaws though. Phoenix Lord's can be self-sacrificing, Dragon Sire's can be rather argumentative and a little snooty. The Wolf Count's can be a little aggressive or overly passionate about physical and mental essence—and when I say that I mean I think that they might be a little thick—but that's my opinion though. And of course Kraken King's are socially stunted. For the most part."

Severus took in what she had said and mentally compared the Factions to the Houses in Hogwarts. It sounded as if the Bells Magical Academy was a giant club.

"Alright, Mister—"

"Mr. Prince."

"Mr. Prince, how many robes do you need? I'm assuming one for every day."

"Make that a couple more extra, in case I spill a potion on my robes." Severus instructed. "Could you also make a few waist coats as well and maybe some trousers? In black?"

"Alright Mr. Prince, I can do that. Will you also need your dress robes as well?"

"Dress robes?" Severus frowned.

"Yes, every year the Academy has a ball. The teachers usually have a dance competition."

Severus' frown had grown larger, as did the throbbing vein in his temple. "I suppose I will do those now as well."

"Splendid. Shall I assume you want those in black as well?"

"That should be fine." Severus replied.

"Wonderful. I will have those made up in no time. If you want you can sit down while you wait. I will make everything in—black and with haste too." She gave a large smile but Severus could tell she wasn't very excited of his color choices.

Adeline took her time in Blotters and Ink, picking up some new books on Transfiguration and the Dark Arts. She knew "Rus" would be a while, as Mrs. Moon liked to take her time by chatting your ear off while she made your robes. Adeline smirked as she picked up a parchment book imagining the look on Rus' face as she blabbered on about her family, no doubt going into great deal about which Faction they were in and showing him pictures. Everyone had to suffer through it while they waited for their robes to be made, every single year. She could have gone to rescue him, but she was sure he was a big boy and could handle it. Besides, they might actually have something to talk about afterwards. And she wouldn't mind that. His posh English accent had given her small little shivers even if he didn't say much. He actually reminded her of the Sheriff of Nottingham from a muggle book she had read once when she was little. He had the overall broody and scruffy look down while maintaining this air of arrogance around him. Something wasn't exactly right about him though. He masked his feelings, which was another reason why he probably didn't say much.

The bell of the store rang as the door opened a half an hour later, and in came a frowning Rus with a large bag of what Adeline presumed was his robes. She smirked as she finally had a chance to look him up and down. He wore all black, with a high collar turtleneck under his robes. He had a rather slim build, but was uncertain from how many layers he actually wore.

"Over here Rus." Adeline gave a small wave as she locked eyes with his. "How was getting your robes from Mrs. Moon?"

"Fine." He replied with a hint of bitterness in his voice.

"She likes to talk doesn't she?" Adeline smirked as she picked up another book, adding it to the pile that floated close behind her.

"A little warning might have been nice."

"Aw, come now, and spoil the fun of seeing your face frown more?" Adeline gave a soft smile, "It's an experience everyone around here goes through. She's the best, but she's very proud of her family. I imagine she didn't mention the fact that her son is in fact dead either."

Severus raised an eyebrow, "No, she didn't."

"Her son was an Auror and was killed before his son was born. You'll meet Jeremy. You'll probably dislike him a great deal. He likes to break rules and finds himself in detention often."

"Why would you assume that I won't like him?"

"Oh please. Have you looked in a mirror lately? Your outfit and demeanor scream 'stick up my ass'. Am I wrong?"

Severus' clenched his teeth, "You might be."

"Well then, I apologize in advance, but you're really going to have to prove that the stick is non-existent. Anyhow Rus, did you need to pick up any books? We haven't sent out the list for books for the students until you've chosen the curriculum."

"I have the books I will need." Severus unconsciously patted the handbag of books at his side.

"We have a lot of potion ingredients at the school, but we could go to Slugs and Horns if you need more specific ingredients."

"I think perhaps I would like to get to the school to get settled before I explore more." Severus stated.

"Very well, just let me pay for my books and we can be on our way. I imagine you are tired from your trip." Adeline replied feeling slightly disappointed but quickly shrugged it off.

As Adeline paid for her books Severus' attention wandered to a young girl who raced through the bookstore with a big smile across her face.

"Miss Hall! Miss Hall!"

Adeline turned her attention to the girl and smiled as the girl all but wrapped herself around Adeline's waist.

"Lucy, we've talked about not lunging at people. Specifically me." Adeline smiled returning the hug.

"I'm sorry Miss Hall, she saw you through the window and before I knew it she was gone."

Adeline smiled at Lucy's father, who was the same height as Severus and looked the complete opposite of Severus. He had sun blonde hair with a strong chiseled jaw, and muscles that bulged in his sweater.

"It's okay Mr. Brooke, I have time to say hello to my students."

"She talks about your classes all the time." Mr. Brooke gave a charming smile towards Adeline before turning his attention to Severus. "Oh my apologies, I didn't realize you were on a date."

Adeline giggled immediately, "A date? Mr. Brooke this is Bells Magical Academy's new Potions Master, Rus Prince. He'll also be sharing the Dark Arts classes with me."

"Oh, my apologies once again. I seem to put my foot in my mouth quite often." He extended his hand to Severus who shook it once out of politeness. "What happened to Mr. Blaine?"

Adeline scratched the back of her head, "A drunken bet occurred. He was in Louisiana visiting some relatives—and well long story short lost his limbs to magic gators."

"Magical gators?" Severus asked before Mr. Brooke could.

Adeline laughed, "There are a lot of magical gators in Louisiana on account of a lot of swamp witches who usually stay away from the American Ministry of Magic and vice versa. Those witches hate outsiders and their gators protect their lands from intruders."

"What did he bet?" Mr. Brooke asked.

"Another glass of beer of course." Adeline chuckled, while Mr. Brooke gave a rather girly giggle making Severus raise an eyebrow.

"Where's Mrs. Brooke?" Adeline asked taking note of Severus' reaction.

"He's picking up Lucy's robes. He's really been dying to talk to you about Lucy joining a Faction this year."

Severus heard the word 'he' over and over and looked for a clue across Adeline's face but found her smirking at the conversation.

"What Faction do you want to join Lucy?"

"I want to join your Faction, Miss Hall! The Phoenix Lord's! But I also want to join the Dragon Sire's."

"Ah, then Mr. Jacobs and I will be testing you my dear to see what Faction you will actually be put in."

"I have no problem with her joining either Faction, but of course Mrs. Brooke is pushing her to be in Phoenix Lord's like he was. I honestly don't know what to do with him."

The bell of the store rang as the door opened, revealing a rather noticeable drag-queen, dressed in a flamboyantly hot pink robe and a matching hat with a rather noisy pair of white birds chirping happily and fluttering their wings. The man also wore large pink heels and had red painted finger and toe nails. Adeline refrained from laughing as Severus' jaw dropped at the sight of the man.

"Josh, where were you? I thought we were meeting at Lady Bell's for lunch?" The man pouted his pink painted lips and waved a hand at the birds to stop them from singing. Adeline pretended to drop some books to stop her laughter from Mrs. Brooke's rather high pitched girl voice and slight lisp.

"Sorry Mark, but we ran into Miss Hall and started to talk about Lucy's choice in Factions."

Mrs. Brooke's attention turned to Adeline as she stood and then quickly eyed Severus. "Ohhhh, who is this?"

"What am I? Chopped liver?" Adeline smirked.

"Oh honey, as much as I love you, you're just not my type. But this one on the other hand—"

"Mark, behave yourself. This is the new Potions Master."

"Is that a fact? Josh, cover Lucy's ear for a second."

"Mommmmmm!"

Mr. Brooke obliged quickly despite Lucy's ear.

"How would you like to master my potions—Mister?"

Adeline could no longer hold it in any longer as Severus discomfort had become very apparent. "Mrs. Brooke, Mr. Prince does swing that way."

Mr. Brooke chuckled, "Besides Mark, we already have our third we really don't need a fourth."

"Oh pish posh! We could always use more."

"Anyway—Mr. Prince and I really need to get to the Academy. We have a lot to do, but it was a pleasure to run into your lovely selves. If you have more questions about the Faction testing just send an owl." Adeline grabbed Severus' arm and quickly led him out of the store while Mrs. Brooke made woohoo noises.

"I think he liked you." Adeline glanced over at Severus. "And before you start asking they have multiple sexual partners, they own a drag-queen club for witches and wizards here in Denver. Have you never seen a drag-queen before?"

"I have heard of them, but I haven't really met one. Or met a gay couple." Severus pushed a hand through his hair not really knowing what to do or think, but suddenly felt the need to sit down. Adeline noticed his complexion had become paler and decided now was the time to get to the Academy.

"Let's head to the Academy so you can get settled. You look tired."

Severus didn't reply as they Disapparated from Jinxpoint Market.

A pop echoed as they found themselves in the middle of a forest on a large misted mountain. It was cooler than Severus had expected as Adeline let go of his arm and shot a spark of blue into the air. A large carriage appeared with several Thestrals pulling it forward.

"Get into the carriage. I'll take care of your things while you go warm up inside."

"I don't need to be babied." Severus sneered.

Adeline's back straightened as she stared up into his tired eyes. "This is not babying Mr. Prince. This is called courtesy. Now, if you don't mind, get into the carriage while I put the luggage away."

Adeline flicked her wand with such force the carriage doors flew open and a burst of wind started pushing Severus toward the carriage. Severus was taken aback as Adeline shot him a look of annoyance. Her eyes said it all as did her body language as she floated the luggage into the back of the carriage. He had been so used to living on his own that having anyone take care of something was an annoyance because it was foreign. But he had offended her and had shoved his own mood onto her. He got into the carriage feeling more tired by the second. The jet lag was taking its toll.

A minute later Adeline climbed into the carriage and tapped the window twice with her knuckle, signaling the Thestrals to move.

"It shouldn't be very long. It takes about five minutes to get to the Academy and we'll go across Maroon Lake into the heart of the Maroon Bells peaks. It's a tourist attraction but we found a way to stay hidden."

"Is that so?" Severus asked as the carriage continued to climb higher into the air.

"The Academy's founders were able to pool their magic together to create an alternate perception I guess you could call it. A mirror image if you will. Once you step onto the premises you'll understand what I mean."

They were silent until they reached a space in-between the large snow covered peaks. Severus saw a shimmer in the air as they touched down and it seemed to move like water.

"Is it rippling?" Severus asked as the carriage landed.

Adeline got out of the carriage, summoning packaged meat from her clutch to unwrap it. She threw a piece to each of the Thestrals, "Yes. That's the cloaking effect though. Muggles can't see the Academy, all the see is a mirage effect if they ever make it this far into the mountains. The real interesting part is when you step in." Adeline smiled as she wiped her hands clean before flicking her wand at the carriage to unload the luggage and bags.

"Step through. I'll be with you in a moment."

Severus put a hand to the ripple and felt heat radiating from it, yet it felt smooth under his fingers. He stepped through and felt like his body was rippling and turning upside down until there was nothing but a flash of blinding light. Severus put a hand up to block the light and saw a completely different landscape. The land was flat and covered in luscious green grass with a lake glistening in the background, but was nothing compared to enormous red castle that had looming towers and red stoned paths. To the castle's side on a high plateau of a hill was a Quidditch pitch with multiple colored flags rippling in the breeze. To the castles left and around the lake lay a large lush forest of trees.

"Do your forests inhabit other creatures?"

"Of course. We have pretty much anything imaginable in those forests. What a strange question to ask." Adeline muttered as she began to walk up the steps that lead to the red stoned path. The luggage followed behind her, as did Severus.

They reached the large court yard that had a large mermaid fountain made from peach colored marble. Surrounding the fountain was a hedge of crimson red rose bushes, no doubt in hopes to deter the students from frolicking in the fountain. The courtyard was spacious with dark green grass and red stoned paths. Near the walls of the courtyard were marble carved seats that matched the color of the fountain.

"Feel free to look around and roam if you want, Rus. It's a lot to take in at once. This castle has many hidden corridors and rooms. You could ask my Uncle about them and he will swear to you he once came upon a room full of nudie magazines one time when he was a teenager. Can you imagine?" Adeline laughed.

"Is it a Room of Requirement?"

"I never thought of that—and ew." Adeline cringed as she continued through the courtyard toward a black stoned door.

The door was the size of a giant, and had intricate silver and crimson details with the school's crest in the middle of the door. The top right of the crest had the phoenix, bursting from flame. To its left was a dragon with its tongue out. Below the dragon was a wolf its fur sticking up, and looking rather menacing. Next to the wolf was a giant squid with its tentacles curled. Each mascot was looking at its corner as if it was protecting the shield from all sides.

Adeline pushed the door open with ease to reveal a long corridor lined with stone statues of armor. The walls were a peach color with flecks with gold and veins of crimson, while the floor was tiled with ivory and peach mosaics. The windows were large to compensate for the large cathedral ceilings with crystal chandeliers that hung high up.

"This corridor leads to the Mess Hall and it also leads to the Main Hall that leads to the Great Hall. The students usually congregate in the Main Hall and Mess Hall when it's raining. Other than that it just a way to get to the Mess Hall. The Great Hall leads to classrooms and to Faction dorms. First graders all stay together in a dorm, girls in one, the boys in another for obvious reasons. First graders learn about Factions and then choose one in their second grade."

They entered the Main Hall that was grand with high ceilings and covered in paintings framed with ornate golden wood. It led up to a large flight of stairs that split off into two directions. On either side of the stair case was a large wooden door with paintings on either side.

"The door on the left leads to the dungeons while the door on the right leads to the kitchens. Students think it's a broom closet and usually have cleaning supplies fall on them whenever they open the door. If you ever stay up late or need a snack, just tap your wand on the door and say 'Flitknickers', the door will open up and you'll see the kitchens. The house elves love to dote on us, just don't offer them clothing. Apparently they heard stories that you English wizards and witches like to give them clothes, and they were highly offended by the idea. The dungeon door on the left only opens up to us teachers. The students have a different route to get to the dungeons. This is route for us teachers is when we have little time to spare or we are late, only we can open it." Adeline paused as Severus stared up at the ceiling, no doubt looking at the massive crystal chandelier that held a great many candles. "It's a bit gaudy isn't it?"

"Indeed." Severus agreed.

"I'll show you to your room so you can rest for a bit, afterwards if you're up for it I'll show more of the castle to you if you would like." Adeline said as she opened the door to the dungeon and began making her way down the spiral stairs. Though the stair case was nowhere near any windows there still were many letting in the sun along with floating little orbs for when night fell.

It didn't take long for the Adeline and Severus to reach the dungeons. The dungeon was dark and damp with only a few eerie like orbs hovering over head for light. Severus enjoyed the familiarity as he continued to follow behind Adeline and his floating luggage. She came to a stop at in-between two green waterfalls that shimmered into mist as it hit the floor.

"Your door is invisible for obvious reasons, and for additive measures you have a password in case a student figures out this is where you reside, but any teacher can come in if they so choose. Of course we knock and we don't go snooping."

"How do you knock on an invisible door?"

Adeline rolled her eyes and she tapped three times in the air. A wrought iron door shimmered into existence. Adeline opened the door and stepped to the side so Severus could go in first.

"It's all yours."

Severus stepped forward and was pleasantly surprised to see a spacious room that connected to a small study and a bathroom. The floor was black tile with a dark silver rug underneath the black wooded four poster bed that sat straight across from the door. The bed had black satin sheets and a fluffy silver detailed comforter on top. Despite it being a dungeon, the room had four medium sized windows with wrought iron curtain rods with dramatic black velvet curtains that cascaded to the floor. Across from the bed was a large black wooden armoire that matched the wood of his bed.

Severus wandered into the bathroom to find a graciously large shower in the corner next to what Severus assumed was a Jacuzzi tub with black tile covering every inch of the room.

"The showers are new. The shower head as you can see is fairly large and covers the entire span of the shower." Adeline leaned against the door as Severus slid open the glass shower door and peered up at the silver shower head. He then looked over at the sink which was more like a large bowl sitting on the black granite.

"You have plenty of cabinet space in the mirror in front of you. Obviously it doesn't stick out, just tap it with your wand and the mirror will vanish. The cabinets below the sink have your general hygiene necessities, along with razors, shaving creams and soaps. Over here is where they keep the towels. If you don't like the color leave a note for the house elves. Careful with the Jacuzzi, it sometimes doesn't want to stop with the bubbles. Your study has book shelves, a desk, and a closet full of flasks and ingredients. We prefer you keep your personal reserves—personal. We've had past students trying to steal ingredients when making potions they aren't supposed to make. If you want any specific decorations, we can pick them up when we go to the market in a few days again. For now I imagine you want to just rest and settle in. Dinner is always at seven, but I'll arrange the house elves to bring you something if you don't make it up in time for dinner."

Adeline watched him as he touched the granite counter top, "This feels like too much."

"We live in a castle. You don't think that's a bit much?"

"I am not used to this luxury. I was but—" Severus stopped as he looked down at Adeline. "I am tired."

Adeline nodded, "Hint taken. I'll let you rest. The rest of the teachers aren't here yet, so it's just me for now." Adeline walked back into the bedroom and headed for the door, flicking her wand so his luggage and new robes stayed behind while her bag of books and parchment continued to follow her. "If you need anything just call for a house elf and they'll come and get me. If you feel up to it, there's a school map in your desk."

Adeline opened the door and headed out.

"Adeline."

"Yes, Rus?" Adeline asked turning her head back.

"Thank you."

"You are welcome, Rus. Get some rest."

Severus felt alone as soon as Adeline closed the wrought iron door behind her. He liked the room, it was definitely to his tastes although he was fairly certain he might explode the gaudy chandelier that hung above his bed. He opened the door to the armoire and was surprised to find it was actually a walk in closet with drawers and black hangers.

"Americans. Everything is so damn spacious I feel like I don't have enough clothing." Severus walked out of the armoire and sat on his bed. It felt good to sit, especially since the bed felt like a cloud. He groaned as he leaned forward and began taking off his shoes and socks. He could do with a bath before he got some rest. He got back up and made his way to the bathroom to turn on the hot water.

"Who needs a bathtub this large either? Or bubbles?"

As the Jacuzzi filled with water Severus managed to find some sandalwood soap that smelled wonderfully clean to his senses, along with some shampoo and conditioner. After finding everything except a wash cloth, he decided to shrink one of the white towels and threw it into the water before proceeding to strip.

Before he stepped into the tub and caught a glimpse of his reflection and saw the hideous ugly scars across his neck. He touched the skin and shook his head as flashes of images flooded his memory. He shivered turning away from his reflection quickly sitting down into the hot water.

He definitely wanted those bubbles now.

* * *

**Who wouldn't want to sit in a bathtub full of bubbles with Severus. I hope you enjoyed the chapter. It was fairly long mostly because of the great amount of detail I wanted to put into the Factions and into the landscape of the castle. I hope you loved the drag-queen Mark. There's a club in Dallas that my friends and I go to called S4 and it has these hilarious drag-queen shows.**

**What do you think is going to happen in that shower by the way? **

**Thanks to everybody who has been subscribing and reading. It means a lot to me. Please review, I would love to hear from you whether it be constructive criticism or just what was your favorite part of the chapter :)**

**-Nya**


	3. The Game

_The sky was an iridescent blue, shimmering and swirling with sparkling white clouds that twinkled like stars. The sun blazed high in the sky but felt only warm as Severus looked upwards from under a large tree with bright green leaves. Beside him was Dumbledore, resting peacefully in his silver robes, with his hands resting atop his chest. The half moon spectacles resting on his nose were close to falling off as he snored lightly. Severus contemplated him for a moment before turning his attention to a vast lake that appeared in the lush grass. In the distance he saw a red haired figure that seemed like she was walking closer, but remained at a blurry distance. _

'_A remarkable woman.'_

_Severus looked back down at Dumbledore who continued to rest. "How would you know if she is remarkable? You're asleep."_

'_I can feel it. Can't you?' _

_Severus watched him. His mouth was not moving, and he continued to snore lightly. "What should I be feeling?"_

'_Friendship? Trust? You can't keep being on your own forever. It's unhealthy.'_

_Severus frowned, "You shouldn't have helped me."_

'_I've made you do things that were painful and hard Severus. I helped you and you took my help. You weren't ready for death.'_

_Severus crossed his arms as he began scowling, "I should have been. There is nothing for me left to do. The boy is safe and Voldemort is dead."_

'_There is more for you to do. That young woman will help you. She's meant to help you.'_

"_I don't need anyone's help." Severus muttered bitterly as he looked over to the blurred figure. _

'_Are you saying that because you don't deserve help or because you are uncertain of the change that lies in store for you?'_

_Severus didn't reply, but instead looked over at the sleeping old man. _

'_You deserve a second chance Severus and I have given it to you. Don't be a fool and waste such a gift.'_

_Severus made a scoffing noise in his throat looking back to the blurred figure but saw nothing but black emptiness. His heart began to race as he turned back to Dumbledore and found nothing. He felt like he was swallowing his fear and sadness all at once as he stood alone in the dark. _

"_Severus?"_

_The voice was soft and had a sweet tone to it before a pair of lovely blue eyes appeared in the darkness. _

"_Rus?"_

* * *

"Rus?" Adeline frowned putting her hand to Severus' forehead. His forehead was clammy and cold. "Come on, wake up."

Severus blinked for a moment unsure of where he was and immediately grabbed Adeline's hand forcefully. "Miss Hall, is there a reason why you are in my quarters?"

Adeline shook her head and rolled her eyes, "You've been asleep for two days. The house elves were worried and sent me to check on you personally."

"It's just jet lag."

"Jet lag my ass." Adeline retorted, "You don't get sweaty and clammy from jet lag. Besides the house elves said you were talking in your sleep and you hadn't touched any of your food for the last couple of days. You probably caught something while at the airport."

"I feel fine." Severus hissed, noticing she was sitting on the edge of his bed in a dark emerald robe with a silver cinch around her waist with her hair piled up exposing her neck. "I don't need a nurse—"

"Blah blah blah babysitter blah blah blah nurse. Would you just cut the crap and let me do my duty that I swore to my Uncle I would do. I imagine he'll be really displeased if the new Potions Master becomes deathly ill before the start of the new school year."

"Don't be so dramatic." Severus growled sitting up from his bed not realizing he was wearing close to nothing.

"Don't be so stubborn." Adeline threw back shaking his hand off of hers that had been squeezing rather tightly. "Honestly I don't know how you get by in life if you constantly are hissing at people like a feral cat."

Adeline walked for the door and glanced back, "Find me if you actually have the balls to ask for something."

Severus closed his eyes as the door slammed shut. He felt sick and a sudden pang of hunger had his stomach growling angrily at him. Ignoring his hunger a little longer he shuffled to the bathroom for a shower. He could do just fine without that woman. Dumbledore was wrong.

Adeline stormed up the spiral stair case muttering angrily, "The nerve of him! Why would Uncle hire anyone like him? He's stubborn and rude! He doesn't even seem like a people person? Who would want him to teach their children?"

Making her way outside, Adeline took out her wand and changed her clothes into an emerald long sleeved shirt and tight black running pants with a wand holster strapped around her waist. The only way she was going to be able to cool down was if she felt the wind on her face. Storming past the courtyard she walked to where the students learn to fly a broom for the first time. The field was large with dark green grass with little white lines across the field. Students normally had to fly in straight lines first before they did large floating hoops high above the ground.

Adeline strode to a stone shed that was attached to the castle and opened the wrought iron gate that was normally chained so no one stole any broomsticks. She could have gone to get her own broom that sat in her room but felt a little too outraged to actually walk all the way back up the stairs to get it. That and she knew Miss Lane, the Quidditch coach and referee, had a new model called Dragon Flight 260 and she had been dying to try it out.

"Accio Dragon Flight 260."

The broom floated up from the back of the shed to Adeline's hand. She was impressed by its black wood sheen and gold plating. It felt like it had a good amount of weight but she was more interested in the speed. She threw her leg over the broom and kicked off. She laughed loudly as she gained speed quickly, proceeding to do large and tight barrel rolls, nearly hitting a statue in the process. She sighed happily feeling the coolness of the wind on her face as she raced upwards high into the clouds. This was the only real thing that calmed her down when she felt like her temper was rising. Unfortunately she couldn't always just ride a broomstick whenever she felt like. There were times when her patience was thin and she had to blow up something else instead. Luckily for her, her Uncle Davis was teaching her how to calm it down. She had been having lessons from him since she was just a little girl. It was worse back when she was younger. She used to blow everything up or set it on fire, and usually without her wand. It had really become apparent once her mother and father died. Instead of feeling sad and mournful Adeline had felt cheated and angry all the time. Even when her Uncle had taken her in and raised her by himself she was still so angry and opinionated. Over time she simmered down but it felt as if her heart was constantly on fire. This was the only real way to put it out.

Severus had showered and changed into some robes before deciding to go upstairs. His stomach was relentless as it continued to growl at him loudly. He had managed to get upstairs to the Great Hall before he heard a loud girlish scream and a fast moving blur of emerald green. A wave of panic set in his gut as he raced outside. He had driven the stupid woman to suicide? As he got outside he saw her hovering high up in the sky before she took a dive bomb straight down, screaming with—delight to Severus' surprise. She was talented as she pulled up just a few inches above the ground and came to a complete stop in front of Severus.

"Decided to come up for air with your balls?" She asked with her cheeks rosy and a large smile on her face.

"I think you got enough air for the both of us." Severus crossed his arms across his chest.

"Were you worried I was about to do something reckless?" Adeline asked jumping off of the broom, grinning from ear to ear.

"Hardly." Severus stated dryly.

"Oh so you thought I had some impressive skills and you wanted to say that I have said impressive skills?"

Severus raised an eyebrow not willing to agree that she was talented.

Adeline sighed as she walked back to the stone shed to put the broom back. "You're not talkative and when you do say something you're a sour puss. I get it. Do want something to eat? I'm starving."

Severus' stomach growled in reply before he got to chance to say anything. Adeline blinked before she started to giggle. "I'll take that as a yes."

Severus frowned with such displeasure Adeline thought for sure his face would turn into a giant frown. "Jeeze, you really need to lighten up. Your stomach was just making sure it was heard. That's what will happen if you sleep for two days without any food."

"Childish way of thinking." Severus muttered to himself as he followed her back to the Main Hall where she tapped her wand on the door that led to the kitchens and said "Flitknickers". The door opened to reveal a few house elves who were cooking.

"You don't have very many house elves." Severus said looking around the large kitchen that had many copper gas stoves with copper pots and pans simmering and sizzling with food. The copper ovens in the stone walls were baking with fresh bread and pies. The kitchen was vast with counters full of fresh fruit and vegetables being peeled.

"The rest of the house elves are preparing the school before the students arrive in a week. That and our poltergeist decided it would be hilariously funny if he went and wrote some interesting words on the stone walls."

"You have a poltergeist?"

"We have two actually. The one who wrote the words on the walls is Jack. He reminds me of a young Bruce Willis with curly hair. While the other one, Daniel who looks like a giant wrinkled potato really only enjoys chasing Jack around the castle. Although Jack is getting good at avoiding him, you'll hear them floating around. Trust me. Daniel's favorite weapon is a bucket and a hammer."

"Mistress Hall and Master Prince. It's a pleasure seeing you in here again Mistress." A small house elf with small little ears and a bright pink bow smiled as she bowed.

"I enjoy your company Gormwin. What did you make for lunch today?"

"Oh! Mistress! You are so kind! Gormwin has made Mistress' favorite shrimp scampi."

Adeline kneeled down to Gormwin's level as she smiled, "Gormwin you are my favorite. I love shrimp scampi!"

Gormwin giggled bashfully, "Mistress is too kind! Will Master Prince also be wanting some of Gormwin's shrimp scampi?"

"It's really good if you haven't tried it. You're not allergic to red or yellow peppers are you?"

"I'm not allergic to anything except stupidity." Severus stated.

Adeline laughed, "Was that a joke? Oh no, Rus Prince made a joke. The sky must be falling. I should go outside and check."

"Your sarcasm does wonders for my opinion of you."

"Oh, you're just not very nice." Adeline rolled her eyes, "He'll have some too Gormwin."

"Yes Mistress."

The other house elves quickly pulled up two chairs to a table for Adeline and Severus, delighted to be in their company.

"After we eat did you want to go back to Jinxpoint Market and pick up any ingredients for your classes? I know I need to go to a couple muggle stores before the school year starts."

"What do you need from a muggle store?" Severus asked dully.

Adeline ignored his tone, "Panties of course."

Adeline smirked as she took a sip of her water, noticing a light pink creeping across his cheeks. "Yep. Can never have too many panties. Merlin knows I need to have all those lacy thongs and in every color too."

Severus tapped his finger on the table feeling heat creep up to his cheeks. This woman was incredibly blunt and blurted out everything. It was like she was purposely trying to make him uncomfortable. Severus looked up from his glass and saw Adeline smirking in her water. She was deliberately making him feel uncomfortable!

"I don't like thongs." Severus stated, putting up a mask of no emotion.

"Is that so? Well it's a good thing I won't be shaking my ass for you then. What kind of under wear do you like then?"

"I really like those large panties that go up past your waist."

Adeline burst out laughing unable to help herself, "You like grannie panties? Hah, you're a liar."

"Do I look like I'm lying?" Severus asked enjoying her laughter.

"No, but you must be, unless—oh do you have a fetish for old ladies?"

"What?" Severus almost spluttered.

"It's okay if you do. You actually might be interested in Ms. Jones. She's about as old as my Uncle with graying hair and all. I'm sure if you want I could try to hook you up with her. No doubt she wears loads of grannie panties."

"Don't be absurd!" Severus exclaimed, the very thought almost made him lose his appetite.

"You're just her type too, tall, dark and handsome."

"By dark I assume you mean grumpy." Severus frowned.

"Most definitely." Adeline grinned. "However, I'm sure she'll love the fact that you're very mysterious."

"I am not mysterious."

"But you are. You keep everything to yourself. No one is going to be friends with you if you aren't willing to share."

Severus glared, this woman was testing his patience.

"What's so wrong with sharing?"

"Do you always nag and question people?"

"Often, yes. It's one of my best qualities that people enjoy so much." Adeline rolled her eyes as Gormwin brought two plates with shrimp scampi with a large bowl of salad, while another house elf brought two salad bowls.

"If you need anything Mistress, please don't hesitate to ask for Gormwin." Gormwin smiled proudly as she bowed low.

"Thank you Gormwin. It looks fantastic."

"Mistress is too kind."

Adeline smiled as she began cutting up her pasta and shrimp into small bites with great concentration. Severus raised an eyebrow as he rolled his pasta onto his fork.

"I didn't know pasta required such focus." Severus smirked.

"It does when you don't want to choke on it." Adeline replied before taking a small bite.

Severus was amazed that such a brazen woman ate like she had taken etiquette classes. She chewed her food carefully without her mouth so much as making a noise. Even the way she held her knife and fork was like the way a dainty princess would hold them.

"Did you choke your food often?"

"Not since I was a little girl." Adeline replied after swallowing her food.

"Really?" Severus asked noticing she swallowed her food before she replied.

"Really."

"Why?"

"Because I had many lessons on the importance of etiquette at the dinner table."

Severus continued to watch and tried to get her to talk with her food in her mouth. Not because he necessarily wanted to see, but because the majority of people slide their food into their cheeks or behind their teeth and continue to talk.

"Why did you have lessons?"

Adeline chewed a piece of shrimp and looked up at Severus. "Tell you what, I will answer your questions if you answer mine."

Severus contemplated the idea and tapped his finger against his fork. "I'm not really that interested."

"Very well then." Adeline smiled sweetly as she went back to eating in silence.

Severus was surprised she stayed silent the whole time as she focused on the food on her plate taking each bite slowly and then chewing with such careful deliberation. He could sit here in the silence while the house elves continued to peel and cut vegetables, but it was incredibly dull.

"Are there any rules?"

Adeline pursed her lips, "There are always rules. Let's see what is a good rule? Ah. I know. The question can't be avoided or lied about."

"Or else?"

"Well if you avoid the question or lie about it you have to be my manservant for a week doing anything I ask."

"If you avoid or lie?"

"What do you want?" Adeline asked.

Severus smirked, "You get to be my womanservant for a week doing anything I ask."

Adeline laughed, "Fair enough. It will start out as one question from me and then you ask one."

"That's not exactly fair. How about we flip for it?"

"I can do that and just in case for lying—" Adeline pulled her wand out from her holster and waved it. A small gold disc appeared landing on the table. "It's my own version of a Secrecy Sensor. It focuses on lies within a 4 foot radius and as you can see is small and will glow a violent red if a lie is told. Observe. I love the color brown."

The flat gold disc immediately turned a crimson red and began steaming slightly.

Severus eyed the disc, "I'm a pretty school girl."

Once again the flat gold disc turned crimson red with slight wisps of steam.

"It's only a little impressive." Severus stated as he pulled out a coin from his pocket, and once again the disc changed color.

Adeline smirked, "Is that how you really feel?"

"Call it." Severus ignored her question as he flipped the coin and slapped it onto the flat of his hand.

"Heads."

He removed his hand to reveal tails, causing Adeline to sigh and go back to her food.

"Why do you eat with such precision?"

Adeline paused unconsciously looking at the flat disc. "I used to shove so much food in my mouth that I would vomit up my food or choke when I was little."

"Wh—"

"My turn." Adeline wagged her finger. "And I'll start with an easy question. What's your favorite color?"

"Black. Why did you shove so much food in your mouth?"

"I was upset and had no other means to show it besides my own anger. What's your real name?"

Severus stared into those knowing blue eyes; it was a risky game that they were playing. What had he gotten himself into?

"My name is Severus Snape. Why were you upset?"

Adeline took her time eating a piece of shrimp before replying, "My mother killed herself."

That wasn't the answer he was assuming would utter from her mouth.

"Severus Snape, does my Uncle know who you are?"

"Yes. Do you know why your mother killed herself?"

"My father died in a car accident four months before she took her own life. I assume she was depressed and lonely without him, so she killed herself. Why are you masquerading around as Rus Prince?"

Severus tapped his finger wondering how to answer this and how to ask his next question without pushing her into getting violent. It was like a brutal game of chess. "I was given a second chance at living life, so I decided I would change my name and move to a new country so no one would know me. How old were you when your parents died?"

Adeline took a sip of her water, "I was five. Did you do something horrible back home to make you want and need a second chance?"

Severus looked at the determination on her face and saw no one was going to win this game. "I did many things that were considered horrible under someone else's orders. How does that answer make you feel?"

Adeline was surprised that he asked that question while he maintained this cool demeanor. He had put up a mask as he continued to eat his food.

"It intrigues me. Are you dangerous?"

"Yes. Why does that intrigue you?"

"You're something different and something new in my world. Why are you dangerous?"

"I've killed people and I am very intelligent and crafty. Are you enjoying this game?" Severus asked hoping to steer her away from those kinds of questions for now.

"Yes. Are you?"

Severus smirked for a second, "Yes. Do you really like thongs?"

Adeline laughed, "Yes. Do you really like grannie panties?"

"No. Why exactly do you like thongs?"

Adeline smirked, "They make me feel sexy and empowered. Plus they don't ride up my ass. Do you like thongs?"

"They've never been displayed for me. So I have no idea if I do or not. Have you displayed your thongs before?" Severus smirked as he watched a deep red blush rise in Adeline's cheeks.

"Yes I have. Have you had underwear displayed for you?"

"Yes. How many have you displayed your underwear for?"

"Three over the course of thirty two years. How many have you had?"

Severus felt slightly embarrassed recalling only a few sexual encounters, two times the woman had more than a little too much to drink. The other offered it as payment for something Severus did for her. "Only a few. If you had me as a manservant for a week, what would I be doing for you?"

Adeline chuckled low in her throat, sounding sultry. "I haven't quite decided. The ideas have been bouncing around in my head ranging from you carrying books for me, to massages, to going to the club with me on an evening night. How badly do you want to win?"

"After you mentioned massages, I wouldn't mind winning. Are you considering playing a bit meaner to win?"

"Most definitely. What's your favorite sex position?" Adeline grinned folding her fingers.

Severus frowned having really only experienced two positions in the past, and he didn't feel they were very appealing. However he had seen pictures and often thought one in particular would be more appreciated. "Cowgirl. What's yours?"

"Cowgirl." Adeline smirked feeling the need to sip at her water. "How many times a day do you masturbate?"

Severus blinked at the question, he often was too busy in the past to even contemplate the idea of masturbating. "Zero to one if I'm lucky."

Adeline coughed, "Really?"

"My turn to ask a question. How often do you masturbate Miss Hall?"

Adeline giggled, "When I have a man or not?"

"There's a difference?"

"If have a man maybe once a day if the sex is bad. Without a man—" Adeline paused, "I'd say twice a day, maybe three if I'm bored."

Severus' jaw dropped, "Really?"

"My turn to ask a question. Do you like my breasts?" Adeline smirked, and tried to hide her face by looking down at her food. Severus had clenched his teeth as he felt the room become hotter suddenly as he looked down at her chest.

"I…think…they are big."

"I should hope so, 38 D! They are big. You avoided the question and I win." Adeline pumped her fist in the air. "You're my manservant for a week. But I don't think I'll have you be my manservant quite yet. Not at least until the school year has started."

Severus pinched the bridge of his nose, "Great. I look forward to it."

The disc flared up, turning a bright red.

"I bet you would look forward to it if it involved my chest." Adeline smirked as Severus stood up wiping his mouth with his napkin.

"Can I ask one more question?" Adeline pouted, "I had a real good one after the breasts one."

Severus sighed, "What?"

"How big is Mister Severus down there?" Adeline grinned before Severus turned and walked out of the kitchen leaving her to her horrible lie detector.

Oh she was good, and she was going to have to plan out what she was going to do with her new manservant.

* * *

**Thanks to everyone who has been reading thus far. And of course thanks to Shelley Snape who checked out this chapter to see if it was worthy of fanfiction. I am trying to incorporate Severus' grumpiness while at the same time trying to incorporate a more humorous side of him. It has become quite the challenge, but I am determined to make it work. Please leave a review! I love hearing from you guys! **

**Oh my question this week is...if you had a question for Severus, what would you ask?**

**-Nya**


	4. The Start of a Good Year

The passing weeks seemed to fly by as Adeline found herself busy tweaking her curriculum and sending out the book list that students needed. Surprisingly enough, Severus had the books that she had already been using to teach her students. He seemed impressed that she had read every book thoroughly and more than once and felt that D.A.D.A was incredibly important to a child's curriculum.

Aside from constantly checking her curriculum, the teachers had begun showing up at the castle and of course came to her since Davis was unattainable at the present moment. So she had the joy of making sure the other teachers were settled, and listened to their stories of what they did during the summer. It usually entailed them doing some kind of gardening as the majority of the teachers and staff was close to their early 60's. That didn't stop them from poking her with questions about the new Potions Master. Adeline had no problem keeping secrets especially one as big as Severus', but that didn't mean she didn't mind making up stories so the old people had something to gossip about. She had mentioned to the mother of all gossip stories,Mrs. Jones the Charms teacher, that Severus had been a Healer and an occasional male stripper when he wasn't too busy saving people. was all a flutter and of course started fanning herself while saying, "Good gracious!" No doubt the story would explode around the teachers and Adeline could have a good chuckle, at Severus' expense of course. Despite the fake gossip, Adeline for the most part shrugged and went back to writing up her curriculum.

"You must know something about him! You've spent the last three weeks with him."Mr. Bodine huffed with a wrinkled frown.

Adeline sighed as she put down her quill to pinch the bridge of her nose. Mr. Bodine taught Muggle Studies and like Mrs. Jones was another snoop. "He doesn't say much, Gideon. He likes to keep to himself and enjoys staring into his cauldron."

"You have a way of talking to people. I don't believe that he was a Healer and a male stripper like does."

"We all have tales to tell. Perhaps you should ask him who he is."

"I've tried, and he just grumbles and slams a door in my face. He's not overly friendly."

Adeline rolled her eyes, "Yes, because you are such a charmer, Gideon."

"I don't slam doors in people's faces."

"I remember pissing off a particular teacher while I was a student here and got a door in the face. That was you."

"That's different. You were a brat of a teenage girl, you still are Adeline."

"Yes, but I'm so much prettier now, so I can get away with it." Adeline gave a cool smile. "Leave him be, Gideon. He's traveled from England. He's probably a little home sick."

"Then he should welcome someone friendly." Bodine waved her off before walking out of Adeline's classroom.

"Not everyone is as friendly as they believe they are." Adeline muttered as she turned her attention back to her curriculum.

Her focus was now lost as she stared down at her parchment. There was no way she was going to finish this tonight. Adeline sighed bitterly as she pushed her chair back from her desk, flicking her wand to put her things away. Her stomach growled loudly as she suddenly realized she had missed dinner. She pouted as she put a hand to her belly. She better head to the kitchen fast before another teacher decided to drop by to ask about Severus.

Stealthily Adeline made her way down the corridor, sticking to the shadows and of course holding her breath when a teacher passed by. Adeline smirked, making a bit of a game of it as she got to the Great Hall.

The Great Hall was filled with lavish tapestries and paintings of previous students, teachers and principals of the Academy. It also of course had great singers, leaders, and philosophers. Adeline enjoyed the philosophers the most, having put four of the paintings next to each other when she was a child. They argued for hours and would walk into each other's paintings just so they could start slapping at each other.

The walls were the same peach like color, and instead of having a great big chandelier hanging from the high ceiling, there was crystal wall sconces, decorated with brushed bronze to light that way.

Taking her wand out of her holster, Adeline tapped her heels before jumping on the staircases railings and sliding all the way down past Jones and the Herbology teacher Mrs. Wilson. It was a long way down from the middle of Great Hall and even longer if you had to go to the top floor of the castle. It had at the very most 15 floors, and though Adeline grew up here, she still had no idea what most of the top floors were besides leading to towers.

"Adeline! What in Merlin's beard are you doing?"

"Going to the kitchen, ma'am." Adeline yelled as she continued to slide down the railings.

"You're supposed to be an example!"

"Do you see any students?" Adeline laughed making it to the bottom of the Great Hall. "I don't see any students at all. Unless I've gone blind with old age."

"Are you sassing your elders, Adeline?"

Adeline didn't want to turn, she knew that voice all too well.

"Only a little. It's good for their hearts." Adeline turned to see her Uncle dressed in an emerald green robe with silver trimming, his arms folded across his chest. "It's a lot faster than using the stairs too. I'm being efficient."

Davis sighed, "Why are you in a hurry?"

Adeline's stomach rumbled in reply, receiving attention from both Adeline and Davis.

"Have you not been eating, child?"

"I have, I only missed a meal today. I think." Adeline paused trying to remember if she had even bothered eating this morning or lunch.

"Shall we head to the kitchen to find something to eat?" Davis smiled, no longer keeping up his disapproving charade.

Adeline rolled her eyes as they walked for the kitchen in silence.

The house elves were excited to see Davis as they entered the kitchen. Adeline grabbed what looked like a sweet bun, managing only a bite before Davis cleared his throat in disapproval.

"What? I'm hungry!"

"Deserts should be eaten after dinner."

Adeline frowned as she sat at the table next to her Uncle.

"What would Master Davis and Mistress Hall like?"

"A couple of turkey sandwiches should be fine." Adeline said almost instantly. "I don't want to take up too much of your time."

"I think I shall have the same." Davis agreed nodding his head as he took off his pointed hat, setting it next to him. "So, Adeline, how is Mr. Prince?"

"You mean Mr. Snape?" Adeline set her sweet bun down before folding her hands as she looked up at her Uncle.

Davis smiled, lightly taking her hands in his. "Didn't take you very long, did it?"

"You should know better to keep secrets from me."

"An old man's mistake, I apologize. Tell me what you have found out so far."

"His name is Severus Snape. He's dangerous and has done horrible things under someone else's orders. That's all I know, however I have every intention of finding out more."

"How did you manage to even get that out of him? He's been trained in Occlumency."

Adeline pushed a hand deep into the pocket of her dark purple robes, taking out her Secrecy Sensor and setting it on the table. She stared at it as her Uncle picked it up, "He's the first one who hasn't lied right off the bat and the first one to play the game properly."

'He's earning your respect. How intriguing.' Davis thought to himself with a small smirk creeping from the corner of his mouth.

"Is that so? I haven't lied too, have I?"

Adeline folded her arms, "That's not exactly fair."

"You're right I know it's not. It seems so distant, when I created this game. It was the only way to make sure you were telling me the truth. Yet here you are an adult and you've created a new game with others."

"You could have just peered into my thoughts."

"That is an invasion of privacy and unnecessary." Davis tapped a finger on the table as he took in Adeline's demeanor. She was sitting straight, and her head was held high. "You said you played the game with him. What did he learn about you?"

Adeline looked over at her Uncle's tired face, "He knows about mom and dad."

Davis took in her words, slowly nodding to himself. 'Very intriguing.'

"How did that make you feel?"

Adeline didn't reply as two plates of sandwiches floated towards them, landing without making a noise.

"Well?"

"It—hurt and felt oddly comforting." Adeline finally replied after a moment. She picked up her sandwich and took a small bite.

Davis smiled to himself as he took a large bite from his sandwich. "Is that a good thing?"

"I think it might be." Adeline said after she swallowed her bite. "I'm unsure."

Davis chuckled lightly as he nodded, "You will find out soon enough, I suspect."

"Don't get any ideas, old man. If you're trying to play love guru, I will have a few choice words for you." Adeline waved her sandwich at him with a stern look across her face.

"I wouldn't dream of it, my dear child." Davis smiled before taking another bite of his sandwich.

"Actually I already have a few choice words for you. Where have you been for the last three weeks? I received your owl the night before I was to pick up 'Mr. Prince '."

"I do apologize, Adeline, but it is another secret that I must keep."

Adeline sighed, taking another bite of her sandwich.

"I know you don't like it, but I would like to keep this to myself until the time comes for it to be revealed."

"That's not cryptic at all." Adeline raised an eyebrow, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Oh but you love a good mystery. Try figuring out Severus Snape."

"You could just tell me who he is."

"Just as you could probably look up his name in a text book if you so wished. Secretly you don't enjoy spoilers when you can figure them out yourself."

Adeline frowned, "I think you just wish I didn't enjoy spoilers."

Davis chuckled, "Now, now, where is your sense of adventure? So I have a question to ask, if you weren't at dinner this evening with the rest of the teachers, do you think our 'Mr. Prince' was?"

Adeline saw that twinkle in her Uncle's eye as she chewed the last of her sandwich down. "I better go bring him some food."

"That might be a good idea. Gormwin, will you please make a couple more sandwiches." Davis brushed his hands clean, letting the crumbs fall onto his empty plate. "Perhaps take him something sweet too, my dear."

Adeline didn't catch his grin as he stood, making his way to the door of the kitchen, "Oh and tell him I will talk to him tomorrow morning."

Adeline nodded as she picked up her sweet bun contemplatively, "Will do."

"And try to keep the screaming down when you ride your broom tonight too. The last thing I need to hear from the teachers is what a hooligan you are."

"No promises." Adeline laughed as Gormwin carried a silver platter of a couple of sandwiches, with a tea pot and some sweet buns. "What's this for?" She pointed to the tea pot.

"It's a tea pot Mistress."

"I know it's a tea pot, Gormwin." Adeline laughed, "Why is it on this tray?"

"He likes evening tea, Mistress."

"Oh of course. British. Explains everything." Adeline chuckled as she flicked her wand to levitate the tray. "Thank you Gormwin."

"You are very welcome Mistress."

Adeline walked out the kitchens and headed for the dungeons. More times than once had she poked her head in the potions room to find Severus brewing potions, and scribbling notes in a musty old potions book. It was very normal to her, but the only thing that wasn't normal was the fact that he two inches away from the page. She had suggested reading glasses, but he of course became grumpy waving her off.

She had made her way to the dungeons and stood in front of the door for a moment before she realized Daniel the poltergeist was hovering around.

"Daniel, what are you doing down here?"

"Searching. Searching for precious Jack." Daniel turned slowly to reveal a sinister grin. "Have you seen Jack?"

"You are not supposed to be down here, Daniel. You know that."

"Searching for precious Jack."

"I don't give a damn if you are looking for Jack. Get. Back. Upstairs. Now." Adeline hissed taking out her wand. Stupid poltergeist, she hadn't seen Jack for the past few weeks ever since the writing on the wall incident.

Daniel floated silently, "Fire Mistress, do not hurt Daniel. Searching for precious Jack."

"Fire Mistress? Well that's a new one. Jack is upstairs, where you should be."

"No precious Jack upstairs. Looked everywhere. Looking where not to be looking."

Adeline's skin prickled as Daniel floated closer, "What do you mean? He must be upstairs."

"Lost is Jack. Precious Jack. My precious Jack!" Daniel screamed, revealing vicious red eyes and sharp teeth, as the wrinkles of his form melted away into shadows.

"Shit." Adeline muttered as Daniel rushed forward still screaming. Adeline waved her wand silently muttering as a silver barrier formed around her. Daniel bounced off of the barrier, immediately thrashing and howling, ready to attack again.

Adeline's stomach turned as she heard the creak of the potions room door. Daniel heard it too, turning his attention toward Severus who was already pointing his wand at Daniel.

"Would you like some assistance?" Severus asked raising an eyebrow.

Adeline didn't reply but continued to mutter under her breath and locking eyes with Daniel. Severus watched as the barrier melted away, contorting into a small ball of light. Adeline breathed heavily as Daniel stared into the light of the small ball before crying and shrieking in pain.

"Jack! Make it stop! Precious Jack! Precious Jack! Fire Mistress! It hurts!"

"Jack is upstairs you blithering idiot!" Adeline exclaimed.

"PRECIOUS JACK!"

Adeline flicked her wand to dim the light of the ball as she watched Jack poke his head out from a wall.

"Daniel you bigot! Jack is right over there!" Adeline pointed.

Jack was howling with laughter, "Miss me, fatso?"

"JACK!" Daniel hissed, chasing Jack, once again turning into a wrinkly looking potato man.

Adeline's hand trembled as she extinguished the ball of light. Adeline breathed a heavy sigh, "Damn that wrinkly potato man. He's incredibly powerful for a poltergeist."

Severus noticed she was shaking as she tried to put her wand away, "Perhaps you should sit down." Severus suggested but frowned as Adeline shook her head.

"I'm fine."

"Let me rephrase that, you need to sit down." Severus said sternly as he put his arm around her waist, pulling her into the potion room with the silver try following behind still. The tray set itself down on an empty table as Severus led Adeline to a chair.

He hadn't seen her all day and was beginning to wonder if she would make an appearance. He was becoming quite fond of her, enjoying her brightly colored robes and that heavenly scent that reminded him so much of passion fruit with a hint of strawberry.

"If only I weren't shaking." Adeline gave a shaky laugh as she wrapped an arm around her waist out of comfort.

Severus had noticed she paled considerably and decided perhaps now was a good time to open the bottle of brandy he had bought when he and Adeline went shopping for more supplies just a few days ago. He poured a glass and handed it to her deftly.

Adeline's hand shook as she gripped the glass, taking a small sip.

"Was that a banishing spell that you were conjuring?" Severus asked pulling up a seat across from Adeline.

Adeline nodded silently, trying to make sense of the situation.

"I admit I have never seen one conjured before."

"Daniel can only be controlled that way. I learned it when I was young. It's very advanced. I've only ever had to use that spell once before."

"What happened before?" Severus asked, hoping the color would soon return to her face. Her eyes told him she was nervous and was a little frightened, yet she had managed to keep her cool. No wonder Davis wanted her to continue teaching D.A.D.A.

"Jack had been hiding for a week and Daniel went crazy, he began attacking students. My Uncle taught me the spell in case a teacher wasn't around to protect the rest of the students. I've never seen Daniel in that form though. Jack sometimes hides now, but Daniel knows better than to come down here, as does Jack. They're breaking the rules. My Uncle will have to deal with them." Adeline murmured, taking another sip of brandy.

"Wait. Are you telling me you learned a banishing spell when you were a little girl?" Severus raised an eyebrow.

"I was an amazing student, Severus. Outstanding's and top student in every subject and class. I worked hard to be the best." Adeline pushed a hand through her hair as she looked at her brandy. "I was really hoping I would never have to use that spell again."

"Well there's a reason why it's advanced. You literally draw out everything that makes you human into a form of energy to banish the entity."

Adeline smirked, "Spoken like a true teacher who knows everything. Anyhow, I brought you dinner. I apologize for not making an appearance. I've had to answer the old people's questions all day long."

"There's really no need to apologize. I peeked into the room before actually opening the door to the Mess Hall."

"You're so clever. I knew there was a reason I liked you so much." Adeline chuckled before sipping more of the brandy.

"You like me?" Severus concealed his amusement and surprise as he watched the color return to her face. Whether it was the brandy or embarrassment, he was unsure.

"Only a little bit. By the way, I told Mrs. Jones that you were a Healer…and a male stripper."

"What?" Severus exclaimed.

Adeline looked up from her glass and gave him a warm smile, "Well technically if you're my manservant for a week and I tell you strip for me, it wouldn't necessarily be untrue."

"Why would you tell her that?" Severus growled, ignoring the affection in her voice as he pushed himself off of his chair.

"Because it's Rus Prince they want to know about. Not Severus Snape." Adeline said quietly. "Your secret is safe with me, however those old people need someone to gossip about, and though I have no intention of spilling the beans, you have to feed them something."

Severus scowled as he folded his arms across his chest while he stared down at her. "Why do you have to tell them anything?"

"I told you they're hungry! They thrive off of a story. I lied about my story to them."

"How did you possibly do that?" Severus growled now tapping his foot impatiently.

"The only teacher that I had and is still at this school is Gideon Bodine, who arrived at this school when I was a teenage girl. As far as he knows I've traveled the world after I came of age and shook my bootie in the clubs for money, which is only partially true. I shook my bootie quite often in the clubs for free and was for my own enjoyment, not anyone else's." Adeline smiled gulping the last bit of brandy from her glass before handing the glass back to Severus. "Besides Mister-I'm-so-dangerous-and-have-done –horrible-things, I'm sure you've had to lie more than once in your life."

Severus took the glass from her hand, accidentally brushing his fingers across hers. They silently watched each other before Adeline stood to wander over to the four cauldrons that were simmering.

"You've been busy." Adeline changed the subject, suddenly feeling more than a little warm with Severus' heated gaze watching her.

"I haven't had a simpering woman come and bother me at every second."

"Oh so feisty." Adeline smiled coyly as she glanced back at him. "Let's see, this one smells like a Strengthening Solution, this one is a Shrinking Solution and this—" Adeline paused to sniff the air, looking at the silver vapors and the turquoise color, "This is a Draught of Peace. Are you feeling a little anxious, Severus?"

Severus was actually impressed that she knew exactly which potions were which based on looks and scent. "I thought maybe I should pour some into your drink so maybe you're not so hyper."

Adeline chuckled, "Oh, I could only wish that I didn't have so much energy. You know there are other ways to drain energy."

"Judging by the fact that you have a ridiculous grin on your face, I'm assuming you are thinking something dirty."

"You know me so well already. Now this last cauldron is—" Adeline frowned immediately covering her nose, "Merlin's beard! What the hell is that?"

"A Hate Potion. If there's anything I know that I am going to need this year, it's this."

"Love Potion's are banned from the Academy."

"That doesn't stop obsessed girls from making it." Severus flicked his wand at a cabinet, opening its doors to reveal empty flasks. The flasks began floating and scooping up the contents of each cauldron as Adeline continued to frown with displeasure at the Hate Potion.

"Something causing you to frown, Miss Hall?"

"I really should have had one of these every time I dated a man." Adeline muttered to herself.

Severus caught the end of what she said, "Accio Secrecy Sensor."

The small disc floated out of her pocket and into Severus' hand.

"What are you doing Severus?"

"I'm making things interesting. Another week of servitude including walking around in nothing but underwear."

Adeline's cheeks went pink at the thought and could tell Severus was serious as his eyes seemed to pierce through hers. "Why?"

"I'm sure you have a thought as to why."

Adeline met his gaze, "You want to know about my love life?"

"Yes. What could possibly make you wish you had a Hate Potion every time you met a man?"

"I've dated some scummy men. Why do you want to know?"

Adeline waited for the answer, folding her arms across her chest as the flasks continued to take the cauldron contents.

"I'm curious. Did you date one recently?"

"Yes, I did. Why are you curious?"

Severus was felt quite smart, "I can hear the bitterness in your voice. What made you end it?"

Adeline smirked, Severus had caught on that the Secrecy Sensor's greatest flaw, it sensed truth, and so long as you stated something truthful you could in a way avoid the absolute truth while you continued the game. "I didn't. He did."

The disc lit up, flashing a violent red. Adeline stared at in amazement. "I didn't! He was sleeping with that whore of a secretary! He ended it!"

It flashed again. Severus saw a flicker in Adeline's eyes, as if fire itself lived inside of her.

"He was sleeping with his secretary." The disc didn't flash.

"He ended it." Flash.

"I ended it?" Adeline asked between clenched teeth as if expecting an answer. "How in the hell did I end it? I did everything to keep that relationship going." Flash.

"I did! I left the castle at ridiculous times." Nothing.

"I told him everything." Flash. "I told him, nothing."

Adeline became quiet as she stared at the disc. She dared not look up at Severus as she felt a wave of humiliation creep into her stomach. "You win." A flaw that she hadn't seen, that she didn't foresee and had been in front of her this whole time.

"Adeline—" Severus said quietly reaching for her.

"Don't, please." Adeline whispered, inching back as she kept her eyes on the Secrecy Sensor. "I should head to bed. It has been a very long day."

Adeline walked away silently, leaving the small disc with Severus.

Severus took a seat in his chair before noticing an old man standing in the doorway. Severus blinked, thinking he saw Dumbledore as the man stepped forward into the light revealing himself to be Davis.

"Mind if I take a seat, Severus?"

Severus shook his head, "I don't mind."

"May I?" Davis asked holding out his hand. Severus understood immediately and handed the Secrecy Sensor to him. "You're one of the few fortunate ones that have witnessed Adeline telling the absolute truth or the lack there of when it pertains to herself. Adeline has already told me that she has mentioned her mother and father to you. How much do you actually know?"

"Her mother killed herself and her father died in a car accident."

Davis nodded his head as he closed his hand around the device, "That is true. Well let me explain something about Adeline's parents to give you something to think about. Her father was a muggle and her mother was a witch. They often fought about Adeline when she was younger, because she showed no signs of magic when she was little. My sister, Rose, loved a muggle yes, but had a high expectation of Adeline. She expected to have a magical child. Why this way of thinking came to be, I am unsure. There was a lot I don't understand, but one night Adeline's mother and father had another argument about Adeline. The argument turned nasty, causing Adeline's father to leave and drive off. He lost control of the car, and my sister blamed Adeline and grew resentful. I'm unsure if Adeline remembers, but my sister began lashing out and hurting her. I took Adeline away from my sister once I found out, and raised her myself."

"You took her away from her mother. Didn't she kill herself?"

"She did only after I took Adeline away. Her loneliness killed her. Yet young Adeline strived to be perfect in everything once she gained her magical abilities. She worked hard, and she still does. She's tried to prove to her dead mother this whole time that she can do everything her mother could and better. Her choice of boyfriends, since she left school, has been muggle men. She tells them nothing but the fact that she's a witch. When the relationship falls apart she blames them."

"Is she not attracted to wizards?"

"Not that I have seen, until recently. I meddle, you see, as did Dumbledore. You swore an oath to him. You weren't the only one Severus. He asked me to make sure you had a second chance at life. He apparently knew you felt so much guilt and shame over the things you've done, you couldn't possibly go back to that old life. So I promised him that I would take you into my care and build you a new life. Unfortunately you didn't do what I expected. Living in a forest for two years and hiding in caves while managing to retain your sanity is nothing short of amazing, however I was expecting you earlier. No matter. You are here now. As for my meddlesome part, I have only one favor to ask of you while you stay here."

"And that would be?"

"My niece is the most precious thing in the world to me. I know she looks and acts tough, but she has quite a fragile heart—"

Severus opened his mouth in protest before Davis raised a hand in silence.

"I'm not suggesting you woo her, or fall in love with her. I'm asking for you to be her friend or at the very least watch over her."

Severus thought as he looked into the old man's eyes and saw the same sparkle that Dumbledore had. "Does she not have friends?"

"She is similar to you, Severus. She keeps to herself and rarely shares herself with anyone. Do you have many friends?"

Severus frowned, "No."

Davis smiled gently, "Then perhaps it's time you both made friends."

"How old were you when you took Adeline in?"

"Let see. She was born when Rose was thirty, and I must have been thirty seven at that time so I was forty two when I took her in."

"She was incorrect about you." Severus stated as Davis stood up from his seat, making his way to the door.

"About what?"

"You're not an old man."

Davis chuckled, "I'm sixty nine. Dumbledore was an old man in comparison. I think I would love to live until I'm a hundred and fifty. However I think there's a reason why most of us die early."

"Why?"

"Boredom." Davis smiled before leaving Severus to his potions. "Not everyone lives their lives like Albus Dumbledore. The rest of us are rather simple in comparison I suppose. Also if you are worried about her, she rests on the fourth floor behind a large tapestry of gold and red, similar to the shape of a phoenix. The password is 'fruit basket'. Have a good night Severus."

Severus raised an eyebrow, Davis was meddlesome. Although the idea was tantalizing, bringing up an image of the lovely pale skinned goddess, tired and weary from the day, letting her dark purple robe pool around her feet, leaving her skin exposed. Those fire red curls cascading down her back as she undid the tie that held them into a perfect bun. Surprised, yet comforted as she looks back at him with those kind blue eyes.

Severus shivered slightly before shaking his head with disapproval. She clearly didn't need a man pawing over her. Severus would have to settle for the friend zone, again. Severus growled at the thought as he stood to clear the contents of the cauldrons. Perhaps this time with a new advantage he wouldn't be brushed to the side for a brazen man with messy hair. And luckily for him, the advantage was she was his woman servant for a week wearing only underwear. A smile curled deviously upon Severus' lips as he headed to his quarters. It's hard to stay in the friend zone when your friend is prancing around half naked.

This was starting to be a good year.

* * *

**OOOOHHHH! SNAP! Adeline lost a game, and will soon have to suffer the consequences, and at the same time learning a valuable lesson. (The More You Know) **

**Awww this chapter wasn't as funny as I wanted it to be. It took a turn for the serious. Boooo! Nya! Boo! I promise the next one won't be so serious and hopefully a little more sketchiness, because Merlin knows, I love some sketchiness. **

**Thanks to everyone who has been clicking those Favorite buttons and even the Alert buttons. It gives me tingles all over to see people are reading, and for the most part enjoying.**

**The question of this chapter is, if you had to be a woman servant for Severus, for a week, what do you expect him to do with you? Besides serving tea, Shelley!**

**-Nya**

**Note: keeps deleting names from my story for some reason. If I have missed a name in the chapter it will either be Mrs. Jone, Mrs. Wilson or Mr. Bodine.**


	5. The Feminine Side

It had been three days since Severus had seen Adeline. There was a small part in the back of his mind that was filled with worry, but for the most part Severus thought Adeline was just being dramatic and childish. Tonight was the night that the students were going to arrive and though Davis had talked to the teachers in the morning about attire and what would happen in the evening, Adeline still failed to make an appearance. When Severus commented about her lacking presence after the meeting, Davis just gave a small smirk, "You have the password. What's stopping you?" Severus knew full well the old man was meddling and had a huge grin on his face as he walked away, leaving Severus to grumble to himself amongst the chatting teachers. It wasn't too shortly after that Severus decided to flee the Mess Hall before the other teachers would take notice that he was all by himself and start poking him with more questions. He had, for the most part, evaded the other teachers for the past three days, but found it was incredibly difficult with Adeline hiding in her room. So after the meeting he all but stormed to the fourth level and proceeded to look for the phoenix tapestry. Though he was no coward, Adeline had made it somewhat bearable to be around the other teachers, while she deflected their questions with such ease.

He roamed the fourth floor, passing by statues of Gods and bold modern paintings. Severus noticed as he continued walking down corridor that the paintings went from light yellows and oranges, to vibrant reds. It wasn't until he got to the end of the fourth floor did he come face to face with a large tapestry that covered the majority of the wall. It reminded Severus of a Van Gogh painting. The colors swirled together into the shape of a phoenix, and though it was a tapestry, the phoenix moved with its eyes following Severus.

"Fruit basket." Severus sighed at the ridiculous password. It didn't fit Adeline's personality at all.

The tapestry became translucent, showing only an outline of a door. Severus stepped through the tapestry, reaching for the ornate crystal knob of the door. He assumed the room would be dramatic, similar to Adeline's personality. Much like the paintings, it would be fashioned with reds and golds.

Severus opened the door slowly and found the room dark with only a little light peeking through. He cautiously walked forward as he took out his wand, whispering, "Lumos." Light erupted from the tip of Severus' wand as he closed the door behind him. Raising his wand he walked forward to Adeline's bed, seeing her whole body curled around a long white satin body pillow. At first Severus was unsure if she slept in the nude, but found she wore a silk and lace peach colored nightie that had risen past her thigh to reveal a black lace thong. It was a revealing piece of fabric that left little to Severus' imagination as he looked at her curvaceous bottom.

Adeline moved slightly, raising the silk nightie higher. Severus turned away, feeling hotter and very suddenly aware of the magnificent figure she had. Though her robes accentuated her hourglass figure, he couldn't make out what the rest of her looked like. Robes didn't help the imagination, but it definitely heightened the curiosity of what was underneath. Glancing back, Severus sighed inwardly, he wouldn't have minded being that body pillow she snuggled and held so close, however she was his co-worker and potential friend. The last time he wanted to get closer with a friend, it ended badly. It went so bad that she married some brat of a boy with a messy haircut and a brutish attitude. He did not want that to happen again, nor did he want to take a chance of ruining a potential friendship at this point in time.

Severus flicked his wand towards the drapes, separating them apart and letting the light flood in. Adeline groaned, immediately covering her face with her pillow.

"Get out." She grumbled, muffled by her pillow.

Severus wandered to the other side of her bed, noticing the baby blue satin sheets and the matching drapes that hung from either side of the white four poster bed.

"Don't you think you're being childish?" Severus asked noticing how her firestorm curls first drew his attention amongst the baby blue color.

Adeline sat up immediately, her mane of hair falling across her shoulders as she glared up at Severus. "How did you get in here?"

"I have my ways of finding things out."He paused as the corner of his mouth curled up into a devious smirk, "Besides, you walk into my quarters all the time; I figured I'd return that favor."

Adeline glared, unable to think of a witty retort, "What do you want?"

"You haven't emerged from your chambers for three days." Severus mimicked her body language, crossing his arms across his chest.

"Well I needed to think about some things."

"Are you still simmering over the fact that your previous relationships haven't worked because you walked away?"

"You make it sound so casual!" Adeline hissed. "You don't understand anything that happened."

Severus ignored her tone, "Don't act like a child and whine about it. If you want my sympathies I would need proper information before I took your side."

Adeline felt her head seethe with anger, while a knot clenched up inside her stomach. He was talking down to her like a child! Clenching her fists as she got up from her bed, Adeline pushed past him and made her way into her bathroom, slamming the door behind her. There was no way she was going to put up with this.

"You do know that if you are ever going to find a proper man, you are going to have to face the fact that you aren't perfect and make mistakes." Severus raised his voice so she could hear him while he inspected his finger nails out of disinterest. "It's also a very unattractive quality in a woman, if you have a tantrum."

Severus grinned as he heard an exasperated scream from inside the bathroom, before Adeline opened the door. He glanced over at her as she stood in the doorway. Her fists were still clenched and her jaw was set. She was using every ounce of willpower to not blow something up or lunge after him.

"Where do you want me to begin?" Severus was impressed that her tone was even and cool, she was going to put forth the effort of making him understand.

"Why didn't your last relationship work? My understanding is that your last lover was sleeping with another, and you didn't tell him anything."

Adeline's movements were forced as she folded her arms across her chest. She was no longer making eye contact, instead she looked at the baby blue rug underneath her bed. "I didn't always get to see him—I tried to put forth the effort but I couldn't ever talk about myself. With anyone really. I would avoid the question instead of lying. A relationship shouldn't be built on lies, but I suppose it shouldn't be built on avoidance either." Adeline paused, turning her attention to the five windows behind her four poster bed. "He was a muggle. Actually for the most part, my boyfriends have been muggles. It's not that I'm not attracted to wizards, but muggles are so ordinary. They don't comprehend magic, and they think it's amazing. I honestly just wanted to be—"

Adeline stopped putting a hand to her face before quickly removing it to look Severus straight in the eye. "I wanted to be special. Therein lays my biggest fault, my own insecurity."

"You told me a few days ago that you were top in your classes. You could have done anything you wanted." Severus frowned. "How can you still be insecure?"

"I have daddy issues?" Adeline joked shaking her head. "More like mommy issues. It wouldn't surprise me if my Uncle actually told you. You and him have this big secret that for once I'm not able to figure out."

"I don't know everything about him, and he only mentioned your parents to me. But I suppose even I have my own faults. Of course I don't let it affect me."

Adeline smirked, "Yes of course. Severus Snape doesn't even let the teachers bother him. In fact he will go out of his way to avoid them. That's not a fault?"

"I hardly think it's a fault." Severus replied, raising an eyebrow at her sarcastic tone.

"Why exactly are you in my bedroom then? I don't think your intention was to humiliate me. If you wanted to do that you would have told the entire school that I can't keep a boyfriend."

Severus didn't answer as Adeline's smirk turned into a full fledge grin.

"It's irrelevant why I'm here."

"Hah! You can't admit it either! You have another fault."

Severus sighed, "Go have a shower and get dressed. I need a guard dog to keep the teachers away."

Adeline chuckled, waving him off as she walked back into the bathroom. "Wait here. It won't take long."

"Fine." Severus replied as the door of the bathroom closed.

He looked around her room and was surprised that the wild woman's room was so very feminine. The walls were baby blue with white crown molding in perfect rectangles along the walls. The ceiling was architecturally domed with white plaster and a unique chandelier hanging down from the middle. The chandelier itself was made out of air blown glass, curled into long tendrils making it look like a sun. Her wardrobe was ornate and made out of white wood, much like the floor, with crystal and silver knobs. Directly to the side of the bathroom door was an ornate white fireplace with several photos of herself with her students and of her Uncle Davis.

The room itself felt light and airy with a collection of soothing paintings, all done by the same artist as it was the same style in every painting. She also had a large white vanity that was meticulously organized with a large blue jewelry box with several different bottles of perfumes, each in a different size and color. Beside the bottles of perfume was a picture of young Adeline with her Uncle Davis. Severus unconsciously smiled as he watched young Adeline giggle in her picture with her Uncle, sometimes hiding and peeking out from behind him. Severus wandered to the opposite room and found instead of a study like he had, a walk-in closet filled with shoes, a broomstick and hats. Severus was surprised at how many shoes she had. They ranged from flats to high heels, from red to black, some with sparkles, some with rhinestones and some with nothing at all. Her hat collection was nothing in compared to the shoes that took up the most space. He had a hard time imagining Adeline in a hat. Adeline's quarters confused him. It was opposite of what she wore, and how she acted. He was expecting angry tones, instead he found this tranquil room that he would assume belongs to a perfectionist woman who was posh and didn't make dirty jokes.

"Alright I'm finished, I just need to get some actual clothes."

"Aren't you the Transfiguration teacher?" Severus asked stepping out from the shoe closet.

"I transformed my towel you goof. But I don't want to smell like a towel all day." Adeline shook her head as she walked into her wardrobe with a white dress that was rather damp. Her curls were dry and bouncing with every move she made.

Severus turned his attention back to her vanity as a couple of drawers opened to unleash a bright pink lace thong, with a matching colored bra.

"I didn't need to see that."

"Yeah, but you were curious." Adeline laughed as the floating underwear came into the wardrobe while she picked a dress robe to wear. Unable to decide what to wear right away, she pulled on her underwear and bra. "I'm thinking my blue one today." She murmured to herself as she took the blue medieval dress from the hanger and slipped it on. It wasn't form fitting at all until Adeline flicked her wand and the string of the corset tightened giving the dress shape along her form. "Want to pick out my shoes?"

"Hardly." Severus replied instantly as Adeline stepped out from her wardrobe wearing a sapphire blue dress robe, accented with a lavender underlay and white trimming.

"You're right, I don't think you'd be very good at it." Adeline grinned walking past him.

Severus glowered as he folded his arms, "Picking out shoes doesn't require skill."

"Hah! You have no idea how much skill it requires." Adeline retorted as she grabbed a pair of black shoes and a pair of dark blue heels with a large bow in the front. "Which one would go better?"

Severus looked at both of the shoes and sighed, "The black?"

"No."

"The blue ones then?"

"No. You pick these ones!" Adeline said running back to get a sparkling blue shoe with a lavender heel.

"You didn't offer me that one."

"You didn't pay attention to detail while you were in my shoe closet." Adeline wagged a finger at him before putting on the strap heel. "You probably didn't even notice my sex toys in there either."

Severus raised an eyebrow, "You have sex toys?"

"I might." Adeline grinned as she walked over to her vanity. She paused as she looked back at her reflection. She wore subtle makeup today, with lightly lined eyes, mascara and a neutral pink lipstick. She picked up a bright red bottle of perfume, spraying her neck and wrists.

Severus continued to look around the room, pretending to be bored as he lightly sniffed the air, now filled with a strawberry and passion fruit scent. "Are you done yet?"

"Yes I should be done for now. I can play guard dog for you."

"Very amusing. I don't actually need a guard dog."

"Oh yes of course, my apologies. Would you like a potions apprentice?"

Severus contemplated the idea as he walked for the bedroom door. "You won't sneeze in the potions or spill them?"

"Severus, I passed every class with flying colors." Adeline rolled her eyes.

"Very well. I guess you can help."

"Oh, the pleasure is all mine." Adeline bowed before closing the door behind her and stepping through the tapestry.

After Severus and Adeline made their way down to the dungeons, Adeline became focused, not speaking as she began helping Severus brew a few more potions. She had no trouble cutting roots, measuring ingredients and stirred every potion with perfect precision. He was impressed that she even pulled her hair back into a bun so her hair wouldn't fall into the potions. Severus chuckled more than a few times when teachers would come to poke at Severus. Adeline would just shush them until they got so irritated that they left.

Severus was the first to break the silence as Adeline began grinding quills.

"Your room is nothing like I thought it would be."

"What did you think my room would be like?" Adeline asked not taking her eyes off of the quills.

"Bold colors, chaotic and messy."

"You apparently haven't seen my classroom then. I keep everything neat and tidy. Though I love bold colors, cool colors make me feel—calm. It soothes me. My bedroom is like my personal sanctuary. I meditate there and I feel like I can think there. I'm also very orderly, just look at the way I eat. "

"And you're loud and obnoxious."

"Only a little, especially if I feel like showing off. You should see me when I meditate. It might surprise you that I actually sit still and I'm quiet. Enough about me though, why are you so guarded?"

Severus raised an eyebrow as he stared down into his cauldron, "It's dangerous not to be guarded."

"I figured you would say something along those lines. When will I be able to hear your story Severus?"

"Let me put it this way, don't hold your breath waiting for my story."

"I got some information out from you. I didn't even need to use truth serum."

"You got information out of me because I allowed it." Severus hissed, glancing over at Adeline who was measuring ground up quills into the cauldron.

"Then I guess you're not very guarded around me." Adeline commented without gaining a reply from Severus who was staring down into his cauldron. "So when should I have you be my man-servant? I was thinking perhaps in a couple of weeks."

"Then I guess you will have to be my servant next week."

Adeline chuckled, "Can you really handle me wearing only my underwear? I think the thought might be too much for you."

"Nothing is too much for me." Severus' lips curled up into a devious smile. "I haven't fully decided what I want you to do."

"Oh me oh my, Severus Snape you sound like you might be a dirty boy."

"Perhaps I am, and perhaps I am not."

"Don't tell me, you've taken a vow of celibacy?"

"My lips are sealed." Severus made a gesture near his lips turning his attention back to his cauldron. "It doesn't mean I can't enjoy a woman's figure."

A light knock at the door had interrupted their conversation as they looked up to see Davis entering into the room. He wore a traditional silver robe with blue accents, and had actually groomed his beard, tying it with a silver cord. He smiled taking note of how close Severus and Adeline were actually standing together.

"It's time for practice."

Adeline gave a heavy sigh, "Not the teacher's march."

Severus gave Adeline a quizzical look, "You didn't mention a teacher's march this morning."

"It must have slipped my mind." Davis grinned, "If you would please follow me upstairs. I don't want any funny business Adeline."

Adeline sighed once more as she began walking for the door, "You're lucky the potions need to simmer for another couple of hours."

"Indeed I am very lucky. Now let's head upstairs to the other teachers. Also you should also consider yourself lucky Severus."

"Oh?"

"I will be pairing you with Adeline."

Adeline laughed, "Well that is a twist. You usually pair me up with Bodine."

"Pairing up for what?"

"Every year the teachers do a march, while we basically show off to the students what magic do. Should I assume dear Uncle that Severus and I will be dueling?"

"You assume correctly, my dear. I figured since both you and Severus will be teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts, you should show off your skills. I expect nothing dangerous that could endanger the students, but something flashy to inspire them to get to your levels."

They made it up to the Mess Hall where all the teachers were waiting, patiently talking amongst themselves with great enthusiasm.

"Alright, for this year's march I believe we will start off with our lovely Mrs. Wilson, alongside Mr. Bodine. After those two we will have—yes Darcy?" Davis began before a rather large woman raised her hand. She was the divination teacher, her cropped back hair adorned with a bright yellow head scarf, plenty of gold bangles around her wrists, wearing a lime green dress robe, with a bright purple corset. No doubt in hopes to cinch her waist.

"Would you like me to give a prediction of the school year, while I march?"

"Since you have been doing it so accurately, I would rather not Darcy. Perhaps your card trick would be efficient." Davis smiled kindly at Ms. Arcos while Adeline stifled a small giggle.

Aside from wearing a little too much makeup that made Ms. Arcos look like a drag queen, she was a seer that enjoyed giving spoilers. She also frequently enjoyed gambling, but most people who knew her, knew not to bet against the Gypsy Seer, Ms. Arcos.

"After Mr. Bodine, we shall have Mrs. Jones alongside Miss Lane. Miss Lane, I believe you have bought yourself a new broomstick, I was wondering if you could pull off a couple of tricks and shoot sparks from your wand."

"Just because I'm forty nine doesn't mean I can't multitask, Davis." Miss Lane was a plucky maiden, with graying brown curls pulled into a ponytail. She was a very traditional woman, often wearing her flying gear all the time, and it was usually brown.

"You are very right, my dear. My apologies." Davis winked, "After Miss Lane, we will have our beloved Magical Creatures teacher, Mr. Cooper. No pixies this year I think Mr. Cooper. After Mr. Cooper we shall—"

Adeline zoned out waiting to actually here her name. She was usually last, being the youngest and probably the most impressive during the march. She used to transfigure the benches the student sat upon, and then duel Bodine. However he lacked finesse and flair. Though she knew D.A.D.A wasn't for flair, it was during the march. Her Uncle came up with this to inspire the students to work hard in their studies and also help them choose which Faction they were in. Rather than being sorted, each second grader is called up to the front and shoots a color from their wand to represent their decision. Though in truth, Adeline already knew that the student's wands would choose their destined Faction for them. They hadn't had a student split between two Factions, even though the teachers always say that the student would have to talk to the two Faction leaders.

"Adeline, you and Mr. Prince will be last after Mrs. Grey. I expect you and Mr. Prince to figure out your spells beforehand while the other teachers are practicing the actual march." Davis paused, "Remember, nothing dangerous that could hurt them. I want flair."

Adeline nodded as she and Severus walked to the side of the room while the other teachers walked out of the Mess Hall, only to re-enter flashing spells.

"Should we do disarming spells?" Adeline, tapping her finger on her mouth in thought.

"He said flair."

"Yes, well why don't I shoot fire at you and you turn it into ice?"

Severus rolled his eyes, "That's not what I would consider impressive."

"Is that so? Well, what does Mr. Prince think is impressive?"

Severus frowned as Adeline folded her arms across her chest, "I have an idea, but I'd rather the other teachers didn't hear."

Both Adeline and Severus glanced to the side, noticing the teachers would walk up the main aisle, but their eyes would trail to them out of curiosity. Adeline gave an obnoxious wave before turning. "Well I guess we're going to have to whisper."

They had practiced for an hour, away from the other teachers until Davis was satisfied, giving Adeline just enough time to pretty herself up and change her outfit. Severus had managed to singe a part of her dress, while she had managed to sever a sleeve from his new coat. He was not pleased until one of the teachers had mended it perfectly.

She changed into a long flowing bright blue dress that clung to her curves without being risqué. The translucent blue sleeves were her favorite part of the dress, flowing off her shoulders down to the floor. A long silver chain with a phoenix medallion adorned her neck, matching her metallic silver heels. She had taken the time to grow her hair magically so it hung past her chest in wild ringlets, clipping one side with a silver clip. It was silly, she knew, to get so dressed up, but this was the only time she really got to unless it was the Christmas Ball. She figured she might as well put on an outfit that had been sitting in her closet to use.

It wasn't much longer before Adeline heard a distinct melody playing everywhere in the castle. It was a choir singing in Latin. It often reminded Adeline of muggles church choirs that were full of little boys and girls singing. The students must have started arriving. The groundskeeper usually led them into the Mess Hall where they would all sit at their appointed table chattering amongst themselves while the second graders sat with the first graders waiting to choose their Faction. The tables each were long, and decorated according to Faction color. Red for the Phoenix Lords. Yellow for the Dragon Sires. Green for the Wolf Counts. Blue for the Kraken Kings.

Adeline made her way down hearing all the chattering from the fourth floor. She could feel the excitement in the air, and reveled in it thinking back to her first time of joining the school. Though she lived in the school her whole life, she had watched the other students with envy, ready to grow up and move on to bigger things.

She stopped at the Mess Hall door, tapping it with her wand, "Duosvias."

The door became transparent, where Adeline could see the children but they couldn't see her. They were all chattering amongst themselves with happy and reckless abandon. Some were practically jumping out of their seats to explain their summer to their friends. She also noticed how nervous the first graders were. They often were timid and shy, but there were always a few who had put effort into making friends on the flight here.

"You have a goofy grin on your face."

"Be careful, Severus. It can be contagious. I would hate for that permanent frown to crack." Adeline grinned, keeping her eyes on the students. "They are all so excited to learn at the beginning of the year, and we try our hardest to keep that spirit going until the end of the year."

"I don't think it's necessary."

Adeline didn't reply. She already knew Severus was a hard ass. She almost pitied the students but knew many of them would strive to prove themselves, even if they would probably fail under Severus' scrutiny.

She glanced over and stifled a small gasp.

"What, Adeline?"

"Oh nothing. It seems that you are missing a squirrel from your face." Adeline smirked turning her full attention to Severus' now smooth face. Severus was about to retort, but Adeline beat him to the punch, "You look handsome. I like it."

Adeline continued to smile, 'That shut him up fast.'

The other teachers arrived along with Davis. "Remember everyone; this is the start of the year. Let's give them everything we got."

The teachers all conjured up different colored mists as Davis opened the grand doors and began walking into the room until he stood at the front of the room.

"Attention all students!" Davis boomed, instantly quieting the room, "I would like to give you the warmest of all welcomes. I hope that you all had a wonderful summer. Before we begin our feast, it is my greatest pleasure to introduce your teachers this year. Your Herbology teacher, Mrs. Wilson and your Muggle Studies teacher, Mr. Bodine."

Adeline watched as Mrs. Wilson turned several plants around the room into giant singing flowers while Mr. Bodine began floating all of the benches. It proceeded with Mrs. Jones spewing large gold streamers from her wand all across the ceiling that expanded and showered stars with Miss Lane who flew up into the Mess Hall doing tight circles on her broomstick while shooting fireworks.

"Nervous?" Adeline asked turning her attention back to Severus as other teachers continued to make their way once they were called.

"Not even the slightest." Severus lied through clenched teeth. He was only a little nervous, worried that someone would recognize him and everything would fall apart before they even started.

They stood in silence until it was their turn, sparking loud cracks before the mist cleared Severus chasing Adeline. They took it, what they would have considered, slow, but to the students they were incredibly fast, and barely even moved their mouths. Severus shot a stream of fire from his wand, which Adeline whipped into a contained circle, exploding into multi colored confetti while she returned a spell that made loud cracks like a whip. Severus stepped to the side avoiding the slicing like attack, shooting large red missiles as they made their way to the center of the room. Adeline blocked the missiles with her own blue ones creating a large rush of multicolored mist that spread itself around the room. The students were cheering loudly as the mist quickly turned into large bubbles rising to the ceiling. They finished with one last spell both muttering 'Expelliarmus'. Students began clapping loudly as their wands both jumped out of their hands, clattering onto the floor next to each other. Adeline and Severus gave a bow before picking up the wands and exchanging them. They both took their seats next to each other as Davis continued to stand at the front waiting for the students to calm down. "And I am your principal, Mr. Davis. I believe you are all hungry. Let the feast begin."

The students cheered once more before settling down to eat and chat amongst themselves, much like the teachers.

"I like your wand by the way Mr. Prince. It's very—sophisticated." Adeline commented as she began helping herself to some salad.

"I was unaware wands could look sophisticated."

"Well it's black with the carvings on the handle. It suits you."

"Would you say your wand suits you?"

Adeline chuckled, "I would believe so. I think it's the gold handle with the little rubies that really suits my liking. I can't resist anything shiny."

"Noted." Severus replied as he also put some salad on his plate.

"So, not that you need help in finding hooligans, but I thought I would point a few out to you. That and I find it rather amusing. You see the tall blonde boy who is rather lanky and is trying desperately to get the attention of a girl currently sitting in the Kraken Kings table? His name is James Ward. He's the kind that likes to wander around at night bothering the paintings with inane questions."

"Such as?"

"What colors do you like? How old are you? He just likes bothering the paintings. Almost as much as I did when I was a student here. But for the most part he just likes not being in bed when he's supposed to be. The brunette girl, with the rather fluffy looking hair sitting in the Phoenix Lords table, her name is Lisa Burns. She has the tendency of earning detentions for chewing gum in class and blowing bubbles. The girl next to her with the overly large glasses almost always manages to flood the girls bathroom. I'm unsure if she just blows up the toilets or—it's a completely different problem."

"Your trouble makers seem to be rather tame than what I'm used to."

"And what exactly are you used to, Mr. Prince?"

Severus paused as he glanced over at Adeline, who began sipping at her wine. "I'm used to worse hooligans."

"A nice vague statement. You don't need to drop names, you can just tell me of their activities."

"It was three students in particular that wandered around late at night, looking for trouble, concocting potions that they shouldn't be concocting, and sneaking out of the castle frequently. They were—troublemakers, sticking their noses in matters that were none of their concern."

Adeline noted Severus' tone had changed, it had gone from annoyance to an annoyed sense of pride.

"So you were a teacher then before coming here. I only remember a few that were in Europe. What were the names?" Adeline paused trying to remember a passage in her history books. "There's the one in France, Beauxbatons Academy of Magic. There's another one I think in Northern Europe somewhere called Durmstrang. The other one is Hogwarts, in Scotland."

Adeline watched Severus' face, but of course he had masked off his emotions, denoting any reaction to the names.

"I wasn't at any of those schools. You forget those are boarding schools."

"Oh, so you were at a public school? What was the name?"

"It's called I-Don't-Want-To-Share."

Adeline chuckled, "All you have to do is say that you don't. No need to get huffy, however might I bring to your attention that you indicated that you worked at a school. Did you blow it up?"

"Yes, I blew it up." Severus growled low, "Now, might I ask, for you to drop the subject."

"What shall we talk about then? How absolutely ravishing I am in this dress?" Adeline joked.

"I think it's a very nice dress—"Severus paused as Adeline sipped her wine. "It would look nice on my floor."

Adeline choked, trying not to spit her wine all over the table. Once she regained her composure she dabbed at her mouth with her napkin, "Mr. Prince, flattery will get you everything, however such crude jokes are best in private company."

"Who said I was joking?" Severus asked innocently before putting some chicken and peas onto his plate.

Adeline shook her head, but couldn't help feel a little warm at the thought her dress pooling down to her ankles in Severus' chambers. She had been curious as to what was under that high collared shirt. She did have the opportunity before when she had come into his quarters to check on him, but it was too dark, and she could only make out his slim form.

"Adeline dear, what are you hoping for this school year?"

Adeline snapped out her thoughts as Miss Lane invited Adeline into her and Bodine's conversation.

'A hot naked Severus Snape underneath me.' Is what Adeline thought as she smiled sweetly, pushing the thought away, "For all of my students to pass their O.W.L.'s and N.E.W.T.'s."

"That doesn't sound like you at all. Last year you said you wanted all of your Faction to become Aurors and to stop blowing things up."

"Well I realized that was too much to ask for my students." Adeline smirked. Miss Lane had a hard time recognizing sarcasm, and Adeline took full advantage of that.

"You can't push them too hard, Adeline. Not all of them are like you." Bodine interjected. "They can't all do what you did. Honestly Lane, I swear this girl was always in the library or studying in homeroom. Most of the student body would be running around outside or playing Quidditch, but Adeline was very dedicated however you were a hooligan if I remember correctly. This one, Lane, decided it would be incredibly funny to put all of the philosophers paintings together and watch them fight each other."

Adeline took a large gulp from her goblet feeling a wave of embarrassment and pride while Bodine droned on until Adeline changed the conversation to a muggle invention called a vacuum cleaner. Bodine spouted on happily for the next hour about vacuum cleaners.

Once dinner was over, the second graders all stood up and chose their Factions. Adeline was very proud to see Lucy Brooke had chosen the Phoenix Lords. Once everyone had chosen their Factions everyone was told the rules, which of course included not going into the forest and not to wander around the castle grounds late at night. Several students groaned when they heard what their curfew was, which was normal, the only exception was the hall monitors and the Factions student president and first lady.

After Davis' speech the presidents and first ladies of the Factions ushered their Factions to bed, while Miss Lane and Mr. Wood ushered the first graders into their dormitories.

"Adeline, would you please patrol with Mr. Prince tonight? So he can get to know the castle a bit more?" Davis asked as the students continued to pour out of the Mess Hall.

"Of course, Uncle."

"Very good. Your duel was splendid. I hope I get an opportunity at seeing you two duel again." Davis nodded with a big smile, "Well I am off to bed. Lots to do tomorrow. Good night."

Adeline watched as Davis walked ahead, wishing the night would come to an end.

"Might I ask a question?"

"Go for it." Adeline said gulping the last of her wine down.

"If you were that studious, how did you make time for friends?"

"I didn't." Adeline put it simply as she began walking through the Mess Hall.

"Did you have any friends?"

"Did you?" Adeline asked back feeling embarrassed once again. "I don't want to sound like a complete and utter bitch, but I would like this topic dropped for now. I've had a little too much wine, and I'd rather enjoy the buzz instead of having it killed by serious questions. Besides, wasn't Bodine's rambling about vacuum cleaners absolutely fascinating?"

Severus didn't reply, instead he simply walked by her side as they began their patrol of the castle. Once they had finished their patrol Severus escorted Adeline back to her room, all the while wondering what was going through her head as they walked in silence. She seemed embarrassed that she had no friends, whereas he embraced it and yet regretted moments of the past friendship he had with Lily. The thought pained him as they came to the phoenix tapestry.

"Good night Severus."

"I had one friend." Severus uttered much to his own surprise.

"What?" Adeline asked, giving him a quizzical look.

"I only had one friend and then I didn't have one."

Adeline frowned, "What do you mean?"

"I mean besides being incredibly intelligent and dangerous, I have my moments, not often, but I can be rather stupid at those rare times."

"Everyone has their moments, Severus. I definitely do. Though I was friendly enough with everyone I didn't really have friends. What happened?"

"I—I called her a horrible name."

Adeline watched as Severus' whole body tightened, his jaw clenching. "A horrible name that ended your friendship? I can only think of a few things that could end a friendship. You look uncomfortable talking about this. You don't have to continue, if you don't want."

Severus forced himself to shake his head, "Apparently my conscious is getting the better of me in my old age. I called her a 'mudblood'."

Adeline flinched as Severus bowed his head in shame. "I didn't honestly think you for pureblood supremacy. Such a notion is dangerous and was pushed by Voldemort—Oh."

Adeline stood speechless as the realization hit her like a brick wall. Severus continued to look down at the floor but was shocked as he felt a small hand take a hold of his. He looked over as Adeline squeezed his hand gently.

"You should get some sleep, Severus. Tomorrow is going to be a long day." Adeline leaned up onto her tiptoes and brushed her lips against his cheek before turning to go into her chambers.

Severus stood in shock as he watched her walk through the tapestry into her bedroom before the tapestry took form again. Her lips felt soft, like the flutter of butterfly wings, while her hand sent a bolt of comfort through his very core. He hadn't felt this sensation for a very long time and it annoyed him. Perhaps getting older was making him softer and after being alone for so long, he latched onto the closest red head because she was convenient. Perhaps it was also because she was the only interesting person here in this castle and didn't shy away from his seriousness. She also flirted a lot, but he was unsure if it was just because of her nature or because she was interested in him. Once he got to his chambers Severus sighed. This was feeling like the start of a relationship, and Severus had no idea which direction it would go.

* * *

**Whatever Severus, you know you want to tap that! **

**Thanks all who have been reading and reviewing! It makes me jump for joy to see so many readers. Just giddy in the knees! Sorry it took so long to write this chapter. I was recently promoted at my new job (YAYYYYYYY!) so I have a lot more hours :) But I promise I will keep writing, it just might take a couple of weeks for me to update.  
Also because the site has been deleting random words in my fan fiction I have also decided to post my story on my tumblr.**

** And because I can't post links, you will have to go to my author page to get the link.**

** I plan on putting other stories on there. Also you will be able to see pictures of inspiration I use for the story.**

**Take care my lovelies :)**

**-Nya**


	6. The First Day

Severus woke up in a cold sweat two hours before he actually intended to. He groaned as he pushed back a curtain lazily. The sun had only started to peak up in a cheery pink color.

"Might as well get up and eat before anyone else does." Grumbling, Severus pushed himself up from his bed, taking the time to sit and wake fully before actually moving around. He felt stiff and sore from practicing the duel for the teachers march. Adeline could have given him a run for his money, but then again, they both were holding back. And then again, Severus hoped he wouldn't have to duel Adeline seriously. So far she was his only potential friend in this whole castle. He had continued to unravel the story behind Severus Snape. Farther than most people would have gotten besides Dumbledore.

Severus cracked his neck as flashes of his dreams before crept into his mind. He immediately shrugged it off as he made his way to the shower. He cranked it to the hottest setting enjoying the feeling of the water as it streamed down his body. He didn't want the war to plague his thoughts and set the note for the day. As he grabbed his bar of soap he pushed the thoughts away using Adeline. He mentally pictured her face, that rambunctious red hair perfectly framing her face. Her crystal blue eyes staring back at him with such heat. Those wonderful cherry red lips, so full and plump.

Severus took a deep breath, that wasn't where he wanted to go. Yet his body apparently did, as he took a look down at his now throbbing erection. At first Severus considered yelling at it to go away, but knew it wouldn't especially since he hadn't been paying attention to it for a while. The heat and water didn't help either. Severus sighed, accepting what needed to be done, and continued to picture Adeline until he could reach a sweet release.

After his shower, Severus felt better, but felt a little guilty that he had just masturbated to his lovely new friend. As he got dressed in his high collared shirt and coat, he couldn't help but wonder if perhaps she was corrupting him. She did flirt a lot more than he was used to, and even in the past that was extremely rare. He was also so busy with the war that he had no time and no patience to fill his manly needs.

'It's time to enjoy life.' Dumbledore's voice echoed in Severus' mind as he pulled on his robe, ready to start the day. He pushed his thoughts away as he made his way up to the Mess Hall and was surprised to see Adeline enjoying a cup of coffee while reading a newspaper. Severus felt his face get hot as he stared at her from across the room. She wore a Victorian mint colored dress with a white laced high collar. The bodice was tight, accentuating her curves, while the dress itself flowed off her hips before pooling to the floor. He couldn't help but smirk as she crossed her legs, revealing her open toed cream colored heals. Her makeup was subtle with a creamy mint tint on her eyelids with those long butterfly lashes. Severus swallowed as hesitantly began walking to the teachers table. She seemed engrossed with an article, occasionally sipping her coffee and scoffing.

"Sleep well?" She asked as Severus took a seat next to her. She had noticed he had been standing there in the middle of the door way gawking at something in her general direction. She assumed it was her he was gawking at, probably at the outfit. It was a little dated, but she had a hard time putting it away for good.

"Not as much as I would have liked." Severus replied pouring himself a cup of coffee from a silver coffee urn. "And you?"

"Wonderfully. I practically conked out as soon as I hit the pillow and before I knew it I was woken up by a chorus of damn little birds at my window." Adeline grumbled, taking another sip of her coffee. "However, the birds are no more. An unfortunate eagle came and snatched them from my window. I've never been so happy to watch something die before."

Severus blinked at her even tone, unsure if she was serious or joking. "That's—wonderful."

Adeline chuckled, "I'm kidding Severus—I blew up the birds instead."

There was an awkward moment of silence as Adeline glanced over while taking a sip of her coffee before bursting out in a fit of giggles. "Oh the look on your face is priceless. Ah, that felt good, I needed that. I actually only slept okay, I must have been thrashing around in my sleep because I woke up on the floor. Why didn't you get as much sleep as you wanted?"

"I kept dreaming about some crazy woman blowing up little innocent birdies." Severus smirked as a plate of pancakes, eggs, and bacon appeared on the table.

"Imagine that." Adeline smiled as she grabbed a piece of toast and spread peanut butter across the surface before taking a small bite.

"Do you often get up at this time?"

"Before the old people and the young ones? I think it would be safe to say yes. I eat early so I can enjoy the peace and quiet of the morning. This also allows me to get to my classes in a leisurely fashion so I can watch all of my students rush into my class. It also allows me to study Animagus so I can take my test this year."

"Why would you want to be an Animagus?"

"So I can turn into a bird and watch the dirty things you do in your room while no one is watching." Adeline grinned before winking at him.

Severus coughed, nearly choking on his eggs as he felt heat rise into his cheeks.

"Oh, are you okay?" Adeline chuckled automatically patting him on the back.

The heat crept higher still making Severus wish he had his long hair back. "I am fine. Thank you."

Adeline stopped patting his back, noticing the faint red across Severus' cheeks but chalked it up to almost choking his food. "You should chew your food before someone says something funny to you."

"Noted." Severus replied going back to his eggs.

They ate in silence until a few teachers began making their way into the Mess Hall with loud yawns, grumbles and groans. Adeline shuffled her chair closer to Severus as more teachers continued to shuffle for the table. Each teacher poured themselves a cup of coffee before they began perking up for some light conversation.

Severus and Adeline kept to themselves, both enjoying the quiet company and eavesdropping on the other teachers as they talked amongst themselves. Adeline finished her food at the same time as Severus, deliberately slowing down as he helped himself to more food so he wouldn't be alone. Once they were finished Adeline waved a small goodbye to the other teachers following closely behind Severus, knowing full well the other teachers were whispering about the both of them.

"Which grade and Faction do you have this morning?"

"Kraken Kings and Wolf Counts grade 3 level."

"You're going to love the Kraken Kings for potion making. There are still quite a few in other Factions that are good at potions but you will find Kraken Kings excel in potions. You might even want to give them more advanced potions if they ask for extra classes, but I'll let you decide what is best for your students." Adeline smiled as she began walking up the steps of the Main Hall.

"Would you like me to walk you to your classroom?" Severus asked suddenly, stopping at the beginning of the stairs.

Adeline turned, flashing a big smile that had Severus' stomach flipping, "I would like that very much."

Severus took his time up the steps, so as not to seem eager.

"Which Faction would you say is the worst in Potions?"

Adeline smirked, "Probably the Wolf Counts next to the first graders. They won't know as much as you would want, but there are a few who you will recognize as future Kraken Kings. I don't suggest yelling at them either. I heard one first grader pissed his pants when the previous Potions Master yelled because a student wasn't paying attention and poured too many newt eyes into his potion and he had the heat completely turned all the way up. He melted his cauldron too."

"Do I seem like the yelling type?"

"No, but you definitely can come across as intimidating. You have this way of speaking that makes a person quake in their booties."

Severus' mouth curled into a smirk, "Do I make you quake in your booties?"

"In a different way, darling." Adeline chuckled as they began walking up to the seventh floor of the Great Hall. "But seriously I think it's just the aura you have around you, that just makes people scared of you."

"It is better to be feared than loved."

Adeline shook her head as she rolled her eyes, "Someone has read Machiavelli's 'The Prince'. Though it is safer to be feared than loved, you can get rather lonely without love, is my assumption."

"The assumption is correct." Severus stated, nodding his head.

"Were you alone?" Adeline asked, glancing over at him.

"It felt like I was quite often. I had one man helping me along the way until he—" Severus stopped.

"I'm sorry. This topic is hard for you and I keep asking stupid questions."

"It's fine. Sooner or later you'll find out everything, but perhaps we can talk about something else?"

"We could talk about my sex toy collection." Adeline joked.

"Do you really have a collection?"

Adeline chuckled as they continued up the stairs, "It's like buying shoes. I must have every single one in every single color."

"Were your previous lovers not proficient in bed?"

Adeline bit her lip, "I'll sound like a bitter bitch if I answer that question."

"They were that bad?" Severus raised an eyebrow.

Adeline didn't answer at first until she let out a sigh, running a hand through her hair in contemplation. "They were all very poor in bed; mind you I haven't been with many men. Relationships yes. Sex, not so much. Each time was a bigger disappointment than the last. It didn't matter what we tried. Oils. Different positions. Apparently I just feel that good that they just couldn't resist getting it over with."

"They sound selfish. Perhaps you chose selfish lovers on purpose?"

"Self sabotaging." Adeline nodded, "That seems to be my general theme. I pick the guys who are self absorbed, completely hunky and gorgeous, and aren't passionate about anything. That way I feel less guilty about not telling them anything. Jeeze, Severus. You're like my own personal therapist, digging up my horrible flaws. It really makes a girl feel good."

"Make me feel even better that I dig up the flaws of people." Severus scowled.

"It's a giant pity party all around this morning isn't it? You're not bringing out my flaws, but you're making me realize that I've done these things so I can maybe change. It's not a bad thing. In fact, though it can be annoying, I really appreciate it." Adeline poked his side as she smiled.

Severus' frown faded until he heard children like voices echoing from above. Several students whizzed by, but where immediately frozen as Severus pointed his wand at them.

"You want to yell at them? Be my guest. I'll watch in amusement." Adeline smirked as she turned around with a fake scowl as she walked in front of the students alongside Severus.

"Is there a fire somewhere?" Severus asked with a low voice.

The students looked horrified as Severus towered over them with his foot tapping with an aura of great disappointment.

"N-no Mr. Prince."

"Then what's the hurry? I don't remember students being allowed to run up and down the stairs. Do you Miss Hall?"

"I don't Mr. Prince."

"S-sorry Mr. Prince and Miss Hall."

"Detention for the both of you. I expect you in the potions room at eight o'clock sharp. Or you will severely regret the consequences. " Severus gave a look of burning resentment as he waved his wand unfreezing the boys. "Get going."

The boys walked carefully around Adeline both waiting to be a safe distance away to grumble about the new Potions Master.

Adeline smirked at Severus as she continued to walk up the stairs. "Well you definitely would rather be feared than loved. Your reputation for being a hard ass will be all around the school by the end of the day."

"I assume I'm allowed to assign detention."

"Oh definitely and during challenge weeks you can give or deduct points."

"Challenge weeks?"

"Oh I completely forgot, every second week, we have Faction challenges to see who can get the most points. The Faction that wins gets a chest of goodies. It usually contains sweets or little magical toys."

"Challenges?"

"We call them challenges. We award good behavior, or answering a question correctly. We can also deduct points for bad behavior. During challenge weeks there will be four globes of the different elements behind the teachers table with large numbers."

"Let me guess, fire for the Phoenix Lords, air for the Dragon Sires, earth for the Wolf Counts and water for Kraken Kings."

"I don't remember telling you that."

"Mrs. Moon was so kind as to tell me." Severus frowned at the memory as they came to the seventh floor and began walking to Adeline's classroom.

"She is very passionate about our school. Good retention span by the way."

Adeline opened the door off her classroom to reveal a large space with several desks and benches. The room was open and airy with large windows that had the sunlight flooding into the room. Severus was impressed that she did have all of her things in a neat and orderly fashion with no posters on the peach colored walls. Her desk looked like it was made out of marble with a grand throne chair.

"You also have Defense Against the Dark Arts today don't you?" Adeline asked as she grabbed a piece of parchment from an ornate looking bookshelf. She unrolled it to glance at her schedule.

"I'm with the Phoenix Lords and Wolf Counts grade seven."

"Lucky. I still can't believe you won the flip on that one."

"All is fair in love and war." Severus gave a smug smirk as Adeline sat at her desk.

"I don't think that is a very true statement."

Severus leaned forward on the desk, "It's not fair when you play games."

"And boy don't I know about games." Adeline folded her hands to prop her head up as she smiled up at Severus.

A small cough echoed in the room behind them, causing Severus and Adeline to straighten.

"Miss Hall?" A little girl with blonde pigtails and glasses in a crimson red uniform with a golden phoenix emblem stood in the arch of the door.

"Yes Julia? Is everything okay?"

"Lucy says she's not feeling very well. I thought I should come and get you."

Adeline nodded, "Excuse me Mr. Prince, I have to go check on one of my students. I will see you for lunch."

Adeline smiled and gave him a quick wink as she walked out of the classroom. Severus' gaze was drawn to her bottom as she left, giving him very vivid mental images. He shook them off and proceeded to head back to the dungeons as he continued to hear voices echoing from the staircase of the Great Hall.

He took note that every Faction had their own colored uniforms and emblems as he passed several students. The Kraken Kings were a navy blue with a light blue and green emblem of a squid. The Wolf Counts wore an emerald green with a white wolf for an emblem and the Dragon Sires had golden uniforms with a white and orange dragon on their emblems.

Severus also noticed that all of the students who were in a hurry suddenly started to slow down as they watched him sweep down the stairs, his long robe trailing behind him. He knew he looked menacing and mean, and though he was taking advantage of living life, he still found it rather enjoyable to come across as the meanest and scariest teacher of the school. After he made it down to the potions room he began brewing a few potions and finishing the ones that needed to sit for a night. He was looking forward to see which students were actually good at potions and which ones were dreadful. But one thing was for certain, he was looking forward to sitting with Adeline for lunch.

Adeline had rushed into the Phoenix Lords dorm to find Lucy curled up in bed with a high fever.

"Lucy, honey, are you not feeling very well?" Adeline whispered silently as she rested the back of her hand on Lucy's forehead. Lucy nodded feebly with silent tears running down her face.

"Can you tell me what specifically doesn't feel good?"

"I feel too hot and my throat is sore." Lucy croaked, struggling to swallow.

Adeline's brow furrowed with worry noticing Lucy's lips were dry and cracked, while her glands were swollen. "I'm going to carry you to the hospital wing, Lucy. Is that okay?"

Lucy nodded again before Adeline scooped her up in her arms with ease.

"Julia."

Julia poked her head out from the doorway, "Yes, Miss Hall?"

"I want you to run ahead to the infirmary and let Mrs. Butler that I'm bringing Lucy, okay? Can you do that for me?"

Julia nodded and took off while Adeline began walking for the staircase.

"Were you not feeling good last night, Lucy?"

"I felt fine last night Miss Hall. But—"

"But?"

"I have a question. Do we have a ghost lady made of fire here in the castle?"

Adeline frowned, "No, Lucy. Why?"

"A girl was at the edge of my bed last night. She had fire all around her and scary eyes that glowed."

"Where you scared?"

"No—yes. I hid under my covers and told her to go away."

"What happened after that?"

"She wasn't at the edge of my bed anymore. She was right beside me and like ghosts, she rushed right through me. Except I didn't get a chill like I would walking through the other ghosts here."

"Oh?"

"It felt hot and—angry." Lucy croaked.

"Well I promise I will sort this out, but you have to promise me you'll get better. Now close your eyes and try to rest while we continue to the infirmary."

Lucy nodded, clinging to Adeline as she held her close. Adeline processed her words, chalking it up to hallucinations or the jitters of being back at school. However, she knew most witches and wizards don't hallucinate those things. They have imaginations like muggles, but most of the things witches and wizards see are real.

Adeline arrived at the infirmary, gently laying Lucy on one of the beds as Mrs. Butler bustled over to the little girl.

"Thank you Julia." Adeline gave the girl a small smile, "You can go get some breakfast before classes start."

"Yes, Miss Hall." Julia nodded before running off leaving Adeline with Mrs. Butler.

"First day and the girl has a fever. Is she nervous?"

"I don't think so. She mentioned something was at the edge of her bed last night. Claimed it was a fire ghost that rushed through her and did this."

"And you don't think she was just nerves and a bad nightmare?" Mrs. Butler asked as she rushed and got a bottle of a fever reducing potion.

"Lucy is an excitable little girl. She's brave and doesn't scare easily. But she said she was scared of this thing." Adeline whispered looking back at Lucy who groaned.

Mrs. Butler poured the potion, hurrying back so Lucy could drink it down.

"Lucy, I need you to drink this for me." Mrs. Butler said kindly.

Lucy propped herself up to drink the glass empty.

"She'll be in good hands, Adeline."

Adeline nodded, "I'll come by to check on her at lunch."

Adeline pondered Lucy's words as she walked out of the infirmary and decided to head to the library to read up on spirits.

Once Adeline was in the library she took out several large books and headed back to her classroom before classes started. While the students were practicing transfiguration techniques she could browse looking for Lucy's hallucination.

Severus had a mildly entertaining day and found Adeline was right on the mark about Wolf Counts and potion making. They acted purely on instinct instead of following the rules or instruction. Several of the Kraken Kings would smirk as the Wolf Counts made fools of themselves, a couple melting a cauldron, while the others blew up or started shooting sparks with a putrid aroma. Severus scolded the Wolf Counts and found he liked the Kraken Kings more and more as each one of them passed their potions with flying colors. Although he was a little surprised when a few of the Kraken Kings asked if they could help the Wolf Counts, however he waved them off and told them that every student needs to learn for themselves. The few students who asked shrugged and seemed fine with the idea. When the time came for a lesson with grade six Phoenix Lords and Dragon Sires, they were all mediocre, making it look like potions was extremely hard to learn whereas the Kraken Kings did it effortlessly. He also had no problem assigning homework the first day, despite the wide array of groans. Severus dismissed their groans by adding on another page to their homework. He definitely was going to be the hardest teacher to please, and could tell the students would have to work hard.

Once lunch came around Severus felt a small wave of excitement as he walked up the dungeon stairs. Once he got into the Mess Hall he was disappointed that Adeline was not at the table yet and would have to be forced into a conversation with the other teachers that were already there.

Severus frowned at the thought but felt a small tap on his shoulder. He glanced over and saw Adeline with a small smile. "Sorry to keep you waiting. I had to check on Lucy. Were you waiting long?"

"No, I just got here." Severus said thankful she had arrived. "How is your student?"

Adeline and Severus walked to the teachers table before Adeline gave a reply, "I'm not sure. Her fever won't go down and she is parched. Butler keeps giving her water to drink, but as soon as she drinks it, it's like steam starts coming out from her mouth."

Severus frowned, noticing Adeline's worried look as she put some food onto her plate.

"She also says she saw something at the edge of her bed last night and that it caused this."

"Did she say what it looked like?"

"Some kind of fire ghost. I was trying to look it up in the spirits book and a couple of monstrous creature books during class, but of course I have to teach so I didn't get very far." Adeline paused, "Have you ever come across such a thing?"

Severus shook his head, "Not that I can recall."

"Once classes are over, I'll have to do some more research. I'm going to have to notify her parents to come and get her if she doesn't get better by tonight." Adeline sighed before taking a bite of her food.

"Would you like some help?" Severus asked.

"You have a detention tonight."

"I mean after detention."

"Ooh, date night." Adeline smirked, "Trying to get me all alone?"

"I'm often alone with you. I hardly consider it a date."

"Well if you never leave this castle, it might start seeming that way—although now I'm curious about what you consider a date?"

"That is a secret." Severus replied raising an eyebrow.

"More secrets I have to pry from you? You're no fun." Adeline pouted. "You probably haven't been on a date in a million years."

"Are you insinuating that I'm old or that I've never been on a date before?" Severus frowned.

Adeline smirked, "Hmm. I think I'm insinuating both."

Severus sighed, "Thank you so very much for the vote of confidence."

"I'm sure you know how to woo a girl. We can put it to the test by going out dancing at a club this Saturday evening."

"Isn't it a bit voyeur to want to watch me woo a girl?"

Adeline giggled, "Who taught you that word?"

"Which word?"

"Voyeur! I had no idea that word was even in your vocabulary."

The corners of Severus' mouth curled into a smirk, "I have plenty of words in my vocabulary, and you just might be lucky enough to hear the dirty ones."

"If you start talking that way Mr. Prince I might have to drag you out of the Mess Hall and back into the dungeons so we can actually put that to the test."

They both smiled at each other as they continued to eat. Both flattered and unsure of what to say next to keep the heated talk under wraps so it didn't lead to them both making out in front of the general population.

"Do the dungeons have chains?" Severus asked casually.

"No, but I'm sure I could conjure some silk ties. Those are so much nicer and leave fewer bruises. I'm not much for the super kink."

"You just enjoy toys."

"Correct, but you shouldn't need any toys. Potions work just as well, if not better."

Bodine interrupted them, "What potion did you say my dear?"

Glancing over at Bodine who began digging in his ear to hear a little bit better, not actually hearing what they were actually talking about.

"We're talking about Love Potions!"

"Love Potions? Bah. Those things are dreadful. You didn't catch anyone making one already, did you Mr. Prince?"

"Not yet." Severus shook his head with slight annoyance.

After lunch they both went back to their classes, Severus looked forward to the evening whereas Adeline felt a wave of dread leaving her classroom occasionally to check on Lucy. She wasn't getting any better and had a difficult time staying awake or keeping any fluids down. She complained it hurt when she drank any water, but would try despite it.

Adeline didn't want to have to send word to her parents, but it was looking like she was going to have to. She felt stretched as she was upon the final class of the day. Several young first graders were learning methods and practicing turning a needle into a toothpick. One boy was able to transfigure his needle into a silver stick which was impressive for the first day. He was probably going to end up in the Kraken Kings Faction.

By the time the last class of the day came to an end, Adeline all but ushered all of her students out so she could focus on reading up on spirits and magical creatures. She went back to her desk, sitting for only a moment before a couple of students entered the classroom to ask her questions about the curriculum. Once they left another pair of students came in to ask for an extra lesson. After the pair she had some other students come and ask about the homework.

Adeline's head throbbed once they all left. She held her head in her hands as she rubbed at her temples, trying to read the words on the page.

"Stressed, are we?"

Not bothering to look up Adeline continued to stare at the page, trying to soak up the information. "I think my head is no longer on my body."

"I can assure you it is still there."

Adeline sighed, "This feels completely useless. Am I reading too much into this, you know, creating mountains out of ant hills."

"I think you mean mole hills."

"Ant hills is more precise at this particular moment. And you didn't answer my question."

"You want my honest opinion?" Severus asked watching Adeline slowly nod her head. "I think a little girl had a bad dream and is very sick. Probably caught something before she came here."

"But her fever hasn't gone down, and trust me I've looked over a couple of Healer books that I keep on hand—"

"Adeline, you're creating mountains." Severus said slowly as he closed the book she was pointing at.

Adeline took a deep breath, "You're—right. Mountains. Mountains everywhere. Now make me a potion to take away my headache."

Severus chuckled lightly, "Why don't you do something you enjoy?"

"That requires either leaving the castle in a slutty outfit or spending a couple of hours in my room." Adeline smirked as she sat back in her chair.

"What would require you to wear something—slutty?"

"Going to a club and having a few drinks. I probably could pull it off. I'll just leave Uncle a note."

"You're going out on a school night?" Severus raised an eyebrow, his tone very much disapproving.

"Have you ever lived a little?"

"I think perhaps you live a little too much for the both of us."

"We only live once. If I really wanted to live, I'd have a child by now. What is it that muggles say, after thirty five years of age you have a higher chance to have a deficient child or die by child birth?" Adeline laughed. "That hardly sounds fun when I a few hundred students. Now, do you want to come with me to the club or am I going to have to go up to my bedroom and have me time for a couple of hours?"

Severus was unsure of what to say and instead looked directly into her gaze. Her eyes were sparkling with knowing. She knew Severus would decline going to the club, but she was pushing that envelope.

"Why don't we go join everyone for dinner, and I'll get a potion to put into your drink to take away that headache?"

"That does sound like a lot of fun—but so does going to the club." Adeline said sarcastically until her stomach growled, "Perhaps I'll take you up on that offer. The beast is hungry."

"I'm so glad I could persuade you." Severus rolled his eyes as they made their way down for dinner. Once they reached the Main Hall, Severus went down to his stocks of bottled potions and grabbed one that was a bright red. He contemplated as he looked at the small flask. No, it was too soon. He grabbed a light blue one that would get rid of headaches. The red flask would have to wait until the time was right. Although it was very tempting as he looked back at the red flask. His mind drifted for a moment of Adeline, remembering his thoughts in the shower.

Severus joined Adeline at the dinner table, handing her the light blue potion that she drank in one gulp instead of drinking it down with her wine. The Mess Hall was filled with laughter and chatter about the students first day. The teachers were also talking about their first day as well, a few students managed to blow up their parchment while trying new spells. A few students fell off their broomsticks while others excelled.

Once dinner had finished Adeline had left a little early telling Severus she was going to bed and that he should enjoy his first detention. Severus offered to walk her up to her room and frowned inwardly when Adeline declined before making his way down into the dungeon to brood. No doubt he would take it out on the two boys who had decided running down the stairs was a smart idea.

As Adeline walked into the Great Hall, she made a split decision and began walking to the infirmary to check on Lucy. Once she got to the infirmary she found Lucy sleeping. She sat next to her and put her hand to Lucy's face. The girl was still burning hot making Adeline sigh. Lucy still had a fever, which meant she was going to have to contact her parents tomorrow morning if she didn't improve. Wrapping her arms around herself she headed up the stairs to her room, knowing she wouldn't sleep at all tonight. It was a great way to start the semester.

* * *

**Sorry this took so long everyone! As I said my promotion has me working a lot of hours, and usually by the time I finish I'm ready for a nap or want to play Skyrim desperately. Let me know what you think of the Chapter :)**

**-Nya**


	7. The Energy Potion

Adeline awoke early and headed down to the infirmary to check on Lucy before she would have reported anything to her parents. She walked in on something surprising. Lucy was awake and alert, happily chatting with Mrs. Butler even though it was the wee hours of the morning.

"Feeling better are we?" Adeline asked walking towards the both of them.

Mrs. Butler smiled, "Her fever broke shortly after you went to bed last night. She got a good night's rest and is ready for a day of school."

Lucy smiled as Adeline tousled the girl's hair, "You had me worried for a moment there Lucy."

"Sorry Miss Hall. I wasn't trying to worry you. Can I head back up to the dorms and get ready for breakfast and class?"

Adeline glanced up at Mrs. Butler who nodded with a small smile. "Just take it easy, and if you start feeling ill, head straight back down here."

"Okay." Lucy smiled as Adeline handed her a robe so she could head back up the stairs. After Lucy walked out of the infirmary Mrs. Butler frowned looking at the dark circles under Adeline's eyes.

"Do you need an energizing potion? You look like hell."

"I think my bluntness is rubbing off on you, Emma."

Mrs. Butler chuckled as she headed to a cabinet against the wall, pulling out a small yellow potion, "Drink it before breakfast. It should last all day until the evening."

Adeline uncorked it, drinking it down with one gulp frowning immediately. "Ugh, that stuff is absolutely rancid, Emma."

"It's my own special brew. You probably taste the coffee beans I put in it. I like the burnt flavor."

"I think I need some actually coffee to wash away this taste." Adeline cringed as she got up and made her way to the Mess Hall trying to ignore the disgusting aftertaste that was assaulting her taste buds. Even when breathing with her mouth, Adeline could have sworn a putrid green gas puffed out. Severus was already at the teachers table, sipping at his coffee while reading a newspaper. Adeline felt a wave of dread knot in her stomach, if Severus started a conversation she would have to reply and a wave of noxious gas would knock him out. Adeline walked up to the table and sat, glancing over as Severus looked over from his newspaper.

"Morning. Did you sleep last night?"

Adeline quickly poured herself a cup of coffee while shaking her head, keeping her mouth tightly sealed.

"I was hoping you would. Is the girl alright?"

Adeline nodded pouring some cream into her coffee before drinking deeply washing away the disgusting taste. She chugged the entire cup, ignoring how hot it was before taking a deep breath. "Merlin's beard that was awful!" Adeline all but growled as she stared down at the bottom of her mug.

Severus raised an eyebrow, "I thought the coffee tasted good. If it tasted so bad why did you drink the entire thing?"

"Mrs. Butler gave me an energy potion. Her own concoction. It tasted like—ass." Adeline shuddered as began piling food onto her plate, feeling incredibly hungry suddenly.

"She gave you an energy potion? What exactly did she put in it?"

"Probably the usual along with some burnt coffee beans. Whatever it was, it tasted disgusting. I think I'll have to scrub my tongue after breakfast."

A half an hour later and Adeline had devoured everything on her plate and then some without saying a word as Severus stared in amazement. The students and other teachers had begun making their way into Mess Hall as Adeline had finished. She tapped her finger against the table and frowned.

"I think she gave me the wrong potion."

"I think she gave you the right potion, but it affected your body differently than her own. That is if I make the assumption that the energy potion was made for her specifically."

"So, what you're saying is I'm having a side effect, of increased hunger?"

"Or more medically speaking an increase in your metabolic rate. You will more than likely have an increase of energy as well, but you will probably be hungry all day."

Adeline groaned as she began filling her plate, her stomach grumbling unhappily.

"At least she said it would only last until the evening."

"Let's hope that's the case. If it doesn't stop by dinner I'll start brewing a potion to counter act her potion."

"I would appreciate it." Adeline said before digging into another pile of pancakes smothered in warmed syrup and butter. "The last thing I need is to put butter on everything like Paula Deen just so I'm getting enough calories."

"You might just want to start munching on a stick of butter." Severus grinned.

"Ha ha. That is so very funny. Unless you're a chubby chaser, because that would be even funnier."

"A chubby chaser?"

"It means you like a heavier woman." Adeline used hand gestures in case he still didn't get it.

"I prefer my women smaller."

"Oh so you like dwarves?" Adeline smirked before taking another bite.

"I hardly enjoy dwarves. I mean smaller than your hand gesture."

"Dwarves are toss-able though."

"Women of your stature are toss-able as well." Severus stated quietly so only Adeline could hear.

"After today I'm sure all this food will go straight to my ass and I will no longer be toss-able."

"I could always test that out for you."

Adeline smirked glancing over, "We definitely could, considering I have all this energy."

"It would be an interesting test."

Adeline chuckled enjoying the conversation. "Interesting would put it lightly. I guarantee I would rock your world."

"Miss Hall?" Mr. Bodine was eavesdropping but clearly misheard what was being said.

"I could rock Mr. Prince's potions world." Adeline nodded, "After all I'm amazing at potions. I'm great at heating things up and I have quite the magical touch."

Severus smirked, catching onto Adeline's innuendos while poor Mr. Bodine had no clue what she was talking about.

"No need to gloat about your skills to Mr. Prince, Adeline. You could just show the man." Mr. Bodine waved her off.

"I will have to take that into consideration." Adeline chuckled before finishing off her pancakes. "Well I'm off to yell at Emma and let the house elves know I will be eating them out of house and home before the day is done."

"Would you like me to join you?"

"Perhaps you want to start brewing a potion to counter act this current one. I feel pumped to run a marathon, but my stomach won't stop growling at me." Adeline patted her stomach. She was a little anxious it wasn't getting bloated from all the food she had stuffed in her face. Where was all this food going?

After demanding an explanation from Mrs. Butler and letting the house elves know she would need snack like finger foods all day long to appease her stomach temporarily, she was practically whizzing around her students during classes. She continued to teach as she did laps around the class at a steady pace, not really worried about how much this unnerved her students. By the time lunch had come Adeline had just taken a plate of food outside with her as she snacked and continued to fast walk around the castle hoping to burn off her energy. It was already at the point where if she wasn't stuffing her face, her stomach would growl loudly practically making her tremble over from the vibrations. And Adeline still wondered where all the food was going because she hadn't needed to use the toilet yet.

She had managed to get through one more class after lunch before telling her students to go take a study period in the library until their next class as she wasn't feeling very well. Which it was quite the opposite, she felt fine aside from being hungry constantly and really wanting to go running having more than enough energy. It wasn't until her stomach starting actually rumbling her whole body to the point she was having a hard time eating that she actually felt desperate and made her way down the dungeons. She had to pause occasionally, holding herself against the wall to steady the mini earthquake that was her stomach.

"Will you just shut up already? You have had enough damn food in your system, and you should be shitting Mount Rushmore at this point." Adeline yelled bitterly at her stomach, still clinging to the wall as her body shook.

Adeline had considered starving herself, but didn't want to know what the consequences would be if the rumbling of her stomach continued this way. She also just considered yelling for Severus instead of tripping down the stairs because her stomach would shake her to the floor. She took a deep breath and braved the stairs hoping her stomach wouldn't rumble. She had managed to make her way to the potion's room and tapped lightly at the door before her stomach rumbled so violently she doubled over in pain.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck!" Adeline hissed clutching her stomach.

A student opened the door and gasped with wide eyes before rushing back into the room. Severus came out in a swirl of black, instructing the students to continue making their potions while he attended to some business.

Severus had ushered Adeline to his bedroom study, holding her steady as her stomach shook her body.

"I hope you have a potion ready." Adeline groaned.

"I found something that will counter act it, but you probably won't be sleeping for the rest of the week or so. You will literally have too much energy to burn."

"I'll take it. I'm a freaking hungry hungry hippo at this point. I can promise I will find something to do during the wee hours of the morning."

Severus sat her down in front of a small bubbling cauldron full of a white liquid with grayish sparks popping up sporadically. He ladled the liquid into a small glass before handed it to Adeline, closing it around her trembling hand. She drank the liquid hastily, taking a deep breath waiting for her stomach to rumble.

She sighed a deep breath of relief as she slouched in the chair, only to perk up immediately. "Well I guess I can go for that run I've been wanting all day."

"Don't overdo it, Adeline. Just because you have energy doesn't mean your body can handle that kind of strenuous activities."

Adeline frowned, "Then what am I supposed to do? My body wants to do things and my mind is absolutely wired."

"You just need to do something physically tiring but not to the point that you will hurt yourself. Don't do running for hours, just light physical activity, like dancing."

Adeline laughed as she began pacing around the room, "When I dance it's not light physical activity."

An image of Adeline dancing at a club full of men floated through Severus' mind causing him to frown. "Thank you for informing me of how you dance."

"Is sex a light physical activity?" Adeline grinned.

The image of Adeline suddenly wore no clothes and was dancing rather provocatively.

"I suppose it would be." Severus clenched his jaw as the image suddenly changed to Adeline wrapping around some blurry male figure.

"Good to know. Well I guess I'm just going to have to walk around my classroom, and patrol lots and then go dancing. You could join me you know."

"I don't dance." Severus stated.

"I'm sure I could get you to dance. It's easy."

"If we're quite finished, I have my class to attend to."

Adeline frowned noticing the change in disposition, "My apologies for wasting your time. However, despite your sudden mood change, I want to thank you for helping me." Adeline walked past him to give a cool look up into those black eyes. "If you change your mind—" Adeline paused as she opened the door to his room, considering slamming the door shut behind her but decided against it and instead walked away leaving him to stand alone in his study.

The evening came and Adeline didn't feel like making an appearance for dinner and decided to head to the city using the Floo connected to her room. She knew of several clubs near Jinxpoint Market. A few were muggle clubs, while the other ones were magical clubs. She preferred the muggle clubs for the music and the people over the magical clubs. However magical clubs started earlier and lasted longer into the night than most muggle clubs. Adeline headed to the Three Witches club first to dance and get a couple of drinks and then move onto the muggle clubs once they opened, and then head back to the Three Witches until it closed at five in the morning. She didn't want to leave but she knew she would just have to come back every night for the rest of the week. After the Three Witches closed Adeline went back to the castle, to take a shower and grab a snack from the kitchen instead of having to deal with a grumpy Severus. She would have tried to talk about his attitude if he would open up more. She still had no idea why his mood changed so suddenly. He was like the freaking wind. Ever changing. Adeline sighed to herself as she carried her morning snack up to her classroom. At least this way she could avoid him and would probably get away with avoiding him for the rest of the week. Hell, the entire year.

The week went by very quickly as Adeline had developed a routine of walking around her classroom, which she found had scared her students into working extremely hard. After classes she would grab a snack and then go for a jog. Afterwards she would shower and get changed for dancing. It was only until this evening did she feel like she had the most energy that Adeline was a little worried that perhaps the other potion wasn't wearing off.

She looked fine as she stared at herself in the mirror as she did her makeup. Her hair was in long bouncy curls that draped to her waist. Tonight she was wearing a little black dress that even she had to agree was shorter than what she usually wore while the straps of the dress hung off of her shoulders revealing her pale skin. Her open toed red pumps gave her outfit an edge as she fiddled with her outfit.

"Going out again?"

Adeline glanced over at her uncle who stood in the doorway. "Yes."

"You have been very—productive lately. Going out early, and coming home—early, in a matter of speaking."

"If this damn potion would just wear off I wouldn't be doing anything but sleeping."

"It hasn't worn off?" Her uncle gave her a quizzical look.

"Nope. In fact I feel like I have more energy than any other night this past week so I'm going to head to the Three Witches tonight. "

"Is that so?"

"Yep." Adeline turned around to face her uncle, noticing his concerned look across his face. "Please don't worry. I know I'm not."

"If you're not worried, then I won't be." Davis smiled before scowling at her attire, "Isn't that dress a little short…and those heels a little high?"

Adeline smiled before kissing her uncle's cheek, "I will see you tomorrow, Uncle. Don't wait up."

Adeline grabbed some Floo Powder before stepping into the fireplace and disappearing.

Davis had left her room and headed to the dungeons, noticing that Severus had completely retreated into his dungeon since Adeline had taken his potion. He had also noticed she hadn't been coming to dinner either, and put two and two together that the pair of them had a tiff. Davis smiled inwardly finding Severus in his potions room, brewing multiple potions.

"Mind if I intrude?"

Severus blinked and looked up from his book, "Not at all, Davis."

"I wanted to ask you a couple of questions if you don't mind."

"Do I have a choice?" Severus asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You always have a choice, Severus. How has your first week been here?"

Severus didn't answer immediately as he looked down at some roots that he suddenly felt the need to cut. "It was busy."

"And your students? How are they?"

"Busy."

Davis nodded, "Well good chat, Severus. I will check on you again." Davis smiled before turning on his heel.

Severus frowned, "That's it?"

"Of course, my dear boy. You said you were busy, I don't want to waste your time with chit chat." Davis smiled kindly, "Speaking of time—when was the energy potion that Adeline took supposed to wear off?"

"It should have worn off yesterday." Severus stated. "Why?"

Davis waved his hand, "Oh it's nothing. I know you're busy, my dear boy, I will take care of the matter. You continue the hard work."

Davis turned and walked out of the potions room, counting down as he headed back upstairs.

"Principal Davis!" Severus called out as he began briskly walking for the Principal.

"Hmm? Yes?" Davis turned to look at Severus who was now storming towards him.

"Has her potion not worn off yet?"

"I believe the words she uttered 'I feel like I have more energy than any other night this past week so I'm going to head to the Three Witches tonight.' I thought it was particular myself, but I'm sure I can handle it." Davis nodded still smiling.

"You said she headed to the Three Witches? Where is that?"

"As I said I can take care of it Severus. I don't want to bother you."

"I insist. Now where is the Three Witches and how do I get there?"

"You can get there by Floo. Adeline has one in her room."

"Thanks." Severus muttered as he walked past Davis.

Davis stood back watching Severus rush to the dungeon stairs and upwards. He grinned as he began making his way back to the potions room. He was too clever for his own good.

Severus walked into Adeline's room and eyed the fireplace before grabbing a handful of Floo powder and uttering Three Witches. The world spun until he remerged, loud pulsing beats greeted him along with a rather large bouncer.

"15 Knuts."

Severus fished around in his pocket before handing them over to the bouncer. The club was packed, already filled with young witches and wizards dancing to the beat. He stared into the crowd and frowned unable to spot Adeline. Severus growled inwardly finding it incredibly difficult with the pounding music and the grandness of the crowd. He was going to need to find a higher vantage point. He walked around the edges of the dance floor and made his way to the next floor so he could look down and hopefully find a blur of red curls.

After a half an hour of searching Severus sighed and made his way to the bar. He stood at the bar and waved over one of the bartenders.

"What will it be?" The bartender asked.

"Information. I need to know if a vixen of a woman came in here. Red curly hair, blue eyes."

"You mean Adeline Hall?"

"You know her?"

"Well you said vixen and gave a vague description of her, but yes I know her. She usually goes to the Starshine Club just down the street on the opposite side. She prefers the muggle music over ours."

"I can't imagine why that would be." Severus muttered as a mournful song came on the speakers. "Thanks for the information."

"15 Knuts."

Severus glared at the bartender before forking over 15 Knuts and walking out of the club. Severus breathed in the cool air and all but stomped to the Starshine Club, befuddling the bouncer and making his way into the club pushing past the scantily clad women. The music was dark but had sensual rhythmic beats. He understood why Adeline wanted to come to this club. The club was dark with laser lights flashing and with some fog blowing around the room. The dance floor was more spacious than the Three Witches but had more people dancing, and was more sexualized than any other club he had been too. Severus ignored everyone and headed to the second floor to get a better look for Adeline.

"Hey Sexy! You have a dark brooding sense of style. I like it." A petite woman dressed all in black smiled up at him.

Severus rolled his eyes, pushing past the woman to stand in a shadowy corner of the railing. The woman didn't take the hint, instead followed him now enthralled with his mysteriousness.

"Did you come here alone?"

"No." Severus growled not bothering to look at the woman. "I'm looking for my sex crazed partner with whom I have sweaty heated relations with every single waking hour of every day."

The girl pouted now getting the hint walking away while flipping a rather rude hand gesture Severus' way. Severus didn't care if he was crass or rude. His only agenda was to find Adeline and bring her back to the castle before she passed out on the dance floor and got herself trampled to death. Or the worse alternative, some man finds her and takes advantage of her sleeping form. Severus' hands clenched till they were white at the thought despite the booming bass that made his heart tremor from the boom. He glanced around spotting every single red head in the room within minutes, but each of them wasn't Adeline. She wasn't at the bar, she wasn't up on the second floor, and if she was on the dance floor Severus couldn't see her. Severus growled tapping his finger against the railing, continuing to peer out over the open space, the alternative could happen at any moment, perhaps he was already too late.

The song changed melted into a new one, one he had actually heard Adeline humming last week. She said it was a song by a muggle named Janet Jackson, called 'Go Deep'. She seemed to like it because she couldn't stop humming it.

A blur of red in a black dress caught his eye as people seemed to leave the dance floor to get a drink, not bothering to dance to the slower rhythm of the song. The woman moved her hips in a slow fashion, wiggling back and forth to the beat, her hands roaming up her body into her hair. Severus swallowed suddenly feeling warmth sweep into his cheeks as he continued to watch her dance.

_We go deep,_

_And we don't get no sleep_

'_Cause we be up all night_

_Until the early night_

_We go deep,_

_And we don't get no sleep_

'_Cause we be up all night_

_Until the early night_

_I'm feelin' high_

'_Cause I'm outta control tonight_

_He's got me movin'_

_DJ groovin' I feel way right_

Severus felt hypnotized, muggles seemed to know exactly how to do it too with their darkened rooms, smoky fog and the little black dress that she wore didn't help either. She began flipping those curls up and down and turning in such a way that Severus was absolutely positive that it was Adeline. She looked like she was enjoying it. Just dancing with herself without a care. Merlin, could she do it well too. Severus took a deep breath to regain his composure as he walked away from the railing to make his way down to the dance floor. He walked around the edge of the dance floor, keeping his eyes on her at all times. He was the hunter and she was the prey—with rather tantalizing hips in that very small dress.

Severus was hesitant as he stepped onto the dance floor and made his way toward her. He felt rather nervous suddenly before remembering he was supposed to be bringing her home because she was a danger to herself. He approached her just as she whirled around and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Took you long enough." Adeline smiled as she continued to dance, "I was wondering when that meddlesome Uncle of mine would send you to come and get me."

"You—you knew I was—"

"Of course I did. He's worried the potion hasn't worn off yet—and it hasn't for the record."

"We need to get you back home." Severus stated as she continued to dance.

Adeline smiled, "One more song?"

Severus frowned, "No."

"Please?"

"No."

"What if I have you be my very own dance pole?" Adeline asked, smirking.

"Definitely not."

"So you'll take me kicking and screaming, instead of letting me dance one more song?"

Severus glared as she did a rather slow twirl involving her hips and hands over her head while arching her back. "Fine, but I'm going to the bar."

"Oh, did I mention I want you to dance with me?" Adeline smiled innocently, "Besides, I figured you've already been watching me, and you'll just watch me some more from the bar. Why not do it up close?"

"You're—" Severus started to protest before stopping himself. There was some truth to her words. In fact, it was all truth.

"Be a pervert on the dance floor instead of far away."

"I'm not a pervert, I was doing what your Uncle asked of me."

"He asked you to ogle the goods, did he?"

"I wasn't ogling." Severus protested, folding his arms across his chest before Adeline took them.

"Don't stiffen up so much, people might think you're my very angry pimp. It wouldn't kill you to dance would it?"

Severus glowered, "It might."

"So dramatic. There's two ways you can dance. You can do I two step, where you just rock from side to side with your hands just up like so or you could do what that guy over there is doing." Adeline pointed at a man who looked like he was having a standing seizure, waving his arms and head around wildly. The corners of Severus' mouth curled upward, feeling a little more at ease with dancing. Nothing could have been more foolish than that man.

The song changed to a singer he actually recognized as Madonna. The beat was slower and mournful sounding. Adeline's pace had changed to match the song where she mimicked Severus' two step so he didn't feel so uncomfortable.

"Do you know how to dance ballroom style?" Adeline asked.

"I do actually, I just prefer not to."

"So when the Winter Ball comes around you won't dance with me?"

Severus sighed, "I make no promises."

"Hmm. Perhaps I can change your mind?"

"I'm a very stubborn man."

"Says the man who is doing the two step with me." Adeline raised her eyebrow. "Don't worry I won't push the matter too much. I would hate to have a repeat of your mood swing from a few days ago."

"My mood swing?" Severus scoffed noticing the dance floor was getting packed so that Adeline was now pressed up against him.

"Yes, your mood swing. I can never tell if I can be playful and say naughty things or if I should just shut my trap around you permanently. As soon as I started talking about sex as a light activity you seemed to get all uppity with me and shooing me off like I was the greatest nuisance know to man."

"You can be a nuisance, yes."

Adeline glared, "Very well, if I'm a nuisance, you're a stubborn ass who is also a nuisance."

"Good comeback."

"Thank you, I try. Honestly, Severus what exactly set you off the other day? You're usually fine with our banter." Adeline asked wrapping her arms around him, "Sorry, I'll lose my balance in these heels if people keep nudging into me."

Severus didn't answer feeling more and more aware of the heat radiating from Adeline's body.

"I am fine with our banter." Severus stated, doing his best to block out the sensations that was now rushing through his body.

"Uh-huh." Adeline raised an eyebrow before she gripped at him harder.

Severus noticed she had gone as white as a sheet suddenly, her face becoming dewy and her body trembling against him.

"Adeline, we need to get you home now." Severus urged, holding her against him.

Adeline nodded silently, closing her eyes as she rested her head against his chest. She felt like she might be sick or pass out. Severus led her to a back corner that was dark and had no one else around before they Disapparated to the Three Witches. He used the Floo to get them back to the castle, but was a bit miffed when they appeared in the kitchen of castle. Severus walked past the house elves in a hurry with Adeline clutching him tightly.

"Severus, I think I'm going to pass out. The edges of my vision are blurred and graying."

"Then I guess we're going to my bedroom." Severus said hoisting her up over his shoulder as he began the descent to the dungeons. "I told you to take it easy."

"I know." Adeline groaned.

"You didn't even take a break did you? You kept going out dancing every night and doing laps throughout the day! Did you even remember to eat, let alone just sit still for an hour or so?"

"No." Adeline replied.

"You're reckless and stupid, did you know that?" Severus continued to scold her as he got to his quarters and opened the door.

"Yes. I am." Adeline agreed as he walked to his bed and was surprised when he laid her down gently on the bed of satin sheets.

"Why didn't you listen to me?" Severus paused taking a step back, realizing a woman in a tiny black dress that continued to ride up those silky looking thighs, was in his bed.

"Would you listen to someone who was making you sound like an inconvenience?" Adeline tried to push herself up so she could get at her shoes, but failed miserably. "Fuck these shoes. They suck."

Severus took a breath as he gently took her ankle in his hand and began unbuckling the shoe while Adeline shivered suddenly.

"Are you cold?"

"No that just felt— good." Adeline paused, refraining from using 'really' in that sentence.

Severus slowly removed the shoe, unconsciously dragging his fingers down her ankle while admiring the red painted toe nails. "Did it, now?"

Adeline didn't reply as he took the other shoe off, mimicking the same movements. Adeline shivered again, this time clutching at the satin sheets. "Oh boy."

"Hmm?" Severus asked innocently.

"You're just mean."

"This is true, I am very mean." Severus smirked as his fingers trailed up a little higher to the middle of her calf. Her skin felt exquisitely soft and smooth as his fingers continued to lightly press against her. Adeline moaned softly as his fingers trailed back down her leg. "So mean in fact, that it's time for you to go to sleep."

Adeline growled and was up in a flash, her fingers pushing into his hair as her mouth pressed firmly against his. Severus was rigid and tense at first, for a split second thinking she was going to wrestle with him and had resorted to hair pulling. That is until her mouth had begun to assault his with fierce determination and heat. She eased up as Severus pulled her closer, one hand weaving its way into the mass of red curls as he angled his head into the kiss while the other hand rested on the small of her back. A moan escaped from Adeline's lips only to be gobbled up by Severus with increasing enjoyment as she shifted so her legs wrapped around his waist, her dress now pushed up so high it had become a very nice shirt.

His lips pressed firmly against hers as his hand trailed lower down to her bottom, pushing her hard against him. The kiss deepened as Adeline let out a small squeak as she felt a throbbing hardness nudge against her. Adeline felt drunk and dizzy as Severus' tongue began to probe inside her mouth, exploring and dancing with her own. She felt breathless as she clutched at him, pulling him down onto the bed with her. Severus' hand trailed up her body, starting from her silky thighs up to the curve of her torso. He felt like a heavy weight was being lifted, replaced with an insatiable lust as he continued to take in that vanilla scent and enjoy the softness from her lips, swallowing her moans. It was only when her arms started to loosen up did Severus' mind remember that she was about to pass out from exhaustion.

Severus pulled back much to his disliking, but grinned inwardly as Adeline let out an audible whine of displeasure.

"Why?" Adeline whined, gazing up from her long lashes.

Severus trailed a few fingers down her face, rubbing his thumb against her bottom lip which looked a little swollen and red from his assault. "You're about to pass out."

"No I'm not." Adeline pouted.

"What color is your vision?"

"Grey—with black edges." Adeline paused with a sigh, "But that is beside the point."

Severus leaned back down, rubbing his lips lightly against hers. "Rest."

"I will if you stay with me. I want to wake up tomorrow and know that my own horny subconscious didn't hallucinate this for me."

"It's not a hallucination. I will stay with you."

Adeline closed her eyes, nodding before she passed out cold from exhaustion. Severus sighed as he pushed himself up from the bed so he could pull the covers over her. Her body caused a rather large reaction in his, and it was unfortunate that neither of them got to finish what they started. Although it was a good sign that she was worried this might be a hallucination, and a rather good sign that she tasted nothing like alcohol, instead tasting like sweet honey.

He grabbed a pair of black lounge pants and stripped his clothing in the bathroom, feeling it would be wrong to be naked while she was asleep and also not naked. He came back out and crawled into bed beside her, pulling her close as he wrapped his arms around her waist. This was a completely new territory, Severus thought to himself as he listened to her breathing. He was used to a quickie and then it was time for whoever it was to leave. He also was uncertain if perhaps he had pushed the boundaries and she was just complying. It was this thought that made Severus shake it head. He was over thinking the situation, unable to believe that some good things could possibly come his way.

* * *

**Hahaha I'm a tease! No smut for you dear readers yet :P Thanks for everyone for being patient, I really do appreciate it. Hopefully I'll be able to pump out another chapter soon :)**

**-Nya**


	8. The Sweet Dream

_Severus stood alone in the dark, watching the shimmering shadows dance across the ground. The mist felt hot, smelling sweet like warm vanilla as it traveled along Severus' feet, flowing upward and slithering up across his body. _

_Severus tensed at first, fearing that the mist would suddenly change into a large snake until a pair of hands with maroon painted nails traveled up across his chest. It was so dark Severus couldn't tell who the form was, but he couldn't deny that he enjoyed feeling those pair of hands run up and down in a sensually slow motion. He rolled his head backwards as a moan escaped his lips. Those clever and devious hands trailed under his jacket, causing him to gasp as he felt a flicker of heat against his skin. The pressure of those teasing fingers increased as they massaged at his hip bones and continued to trail lower._

_Severus breathed deeply, the air had become thick and no longer smelled like sweet vanilla but a seductive spice of desire and passion. The form emerged from the mist as the hands trailed back up Severus' chest, the fingers playing lazily with the buttons of his jacket. The forms face was still hidden in the shadows but he could make out the sexy and voluptuous curves and desired nothing but to touch, and sink his teeth into those wonderful curves. _

_His breath caught as the form began unbuttoning his jacket, all the while teasing him with a slow grind against his rock hard member. It made him ache with desire. He felt like he would go mad if he couldn't touch, but something held him back as the form continued its rapturous assault. _

"_Do you want me?" A voice he recognized purred in his ear, her lips brushing against the lobe causing him to moan and try to reach out. _

"_Yes." Severus whispered as the form's fingers peeled his jacket off letting it disappear in the mist._

"_Do you want to touch me?" _

"_Merlin, yes." _

"_Do you want to taste me?"_

_Severus swallowed, her hips continued to grind against him as she began taking his shirt off. "Yes."_

_He was sure the form was Adeline as a mess of long red curls brushed against his face as her mouth found his ear lobe. Her tongue flicked against the edge before giving a playful nip. Severus groaned loudly as his shirt followed his jacket, and that hot mouth began trailing hot kisses down his chest, her tongue flicking out occasionally._

"_How badly do you want me?" _

_Severus' breath hitched as he felt her hands rub against him before slowly unzipping his trousers. _

"_Desperately."_

_Her mouth had found the edge of his trousers, her teeth pulling at the fabric as her hands rubbed at his thighs, gently raking her nails down. The air had become hot and Severus was ready to beg for release. He needed to touch her. He needed to taste her, to set his mouth on her. It was becoming unbearable. _

_As if she had sensed his will break she stood back, the shadows broke away to reveal those sparkling blue eyes full of heat, and wanting. Severus could feel the invisible binds release and all but leapt forward for his prey._

_But something stopped him suddenly._

_Those eyes, those sparkling and intense blue eyes, had changed. _

"_Adeline?" Severus whispered._

_Her eyes were blazing and the sultry mouth had twisted into a wicked smile that set Severus on edge. _

"_I see you like to play with fire." Adeline's voice had changed, with crackling pops and a deepness that had Severus wondering what kind of creature this was. "I like to play with fire too. Unlike you, however, I don't burn." _

_Severus frowned as the creature's intentions were clear. The air had become stifling, the mist changing into hot smoke that had Severus coughing and the ground flickering with hot flames. The flaming form was no longer Adeline's and the laughter that cackled from the creature chilled Severus to the bone. _

Severus gasped for air as he lunged upward from the bed. His body and hair was slick with sweat as he reached for his wand and frantically looked around the room from his bed. He saw nothing but his room but felt the need to check his entire quarters out of paranoia. He checked his quarters from top to bottom before he remembered that Adeline was sleeping in his bed. He poked his head from his study and saw her sleeping form breathing in slow deep breaths. She was going to be out for the rest of the day while her body caught up from the lack of sleep she had all week. He sighed as he walked back over to the bed. Her dress had hiked up completely to reveal a pair of black cheeky panties causing Severus to smirk. Her bottom was glorious already when he was able to see it in a tight dress, but seeing it like this caused him to bite his lip in wanting. If it wasn't for that damn fire creature disturbing his dreams he would have been able to bite that wonderful bottom.

Severus sighed as he pulled the blankets over Adeline, and was smitten when she let out a soft sigh as she snuggled the blankets closer to her. He wished he was that blanket, he thought grumpily as he went into his bathroom to shower and get ready for the day.

It was around noon when Severus had finished getting ready for the day. He was hesitant to leave Adeline alone in her chambers after his dream. He had linked the creature to the one that Lucy had seen before she got sick. It was too coincidental.

Severus was lost in his thoughts as he made his way into the Mess Hall, and was pleasantly surprised to see Principal Davis sitting reading a newspaper while enjoying his lunch. Only one seat next to him was empty, and once Davis had made eye contact with Severus, he knew that seat was for him. He no doubt wanted to know about his niece.

Severus took a seat next to him and waited patiently for Davis to say something. It was only until Severus had cleared his throat that Davis glanced over at him with a grin.

"Well pile your plate first before we talk. It is noon, and I'm going to make the assumption you haven't eaten yet."

Severus had put a few sandwiches on his plate and hungrily devoured one before Davis set his newspaper down.

"So, did you find her?" Davis asked.

Severus nodded, "I got there in time, yes."

"Glad to hear it. I was unsure if you did or not, as she was not in her room this morning."

"I felt it was best that she sleep in my chambers so I could keep an eye on her condition."

"Oh I have no doubt my boy." Davis gave a small smirk. "Will she be sleeping all day?"

"She might wake up in time for dinner, but I doubt it. I'll make sure that she gets some food and water when she does."

"Thank you. It is appreciated. What shall you do with the rest of your day besides checking up on Adeline?"

"I thought I might do some reading in my chambers, in case she wakes up earlier than I expected."

Davis nodded, "Well, don't forget to take care of yourself, Mr. Prince. It's a beautiful day outside, would hate for you to miss it completely."

Severus nodded as Davis stood up from his chair and left Severus to eat in peace.

After his lunch Severus had made his way into the library, and was surprised to see students studying or catching up on some reading. As he stood at the entrance his thoughts drifted off to three particular students that always seemed to be lurking in the library and trying to solve the latest year's mystery. He quickly shrugged off his nostalgia and headed to the 'Creatures' section of the library and began flipping through books with quiet dedication. He took notice that students that wandered in the section quickly wandered away, causing Severus to smirk and think to himself, "I still got it."

He grabbed a few books and headed back down to the dungeons to begin his new project while keeping a watchful eye on Adeline. Occasionally she would roll over or make a small noise causing Severus to lose his spot in his book.

Nightfall had come and Severus had forgotten to eat completely. He was determined to find something on this creature but after finishing one full book and had come to the middle of the next, he was starting to wonder if his paranoia had gotten the best of him. Adeline had thought otherwise and was searching in the books as well. Perhaps he had dreamed up the creature because he had heard the description from Adeline who heard it from Lucy. A child's mind had quite the vivid imagination and could easily dream up a creature that nightmares are made of. Severus dropped the book onto his desk out of frustration. This was going nowhere.

A small groan had Severus looking up towards the bed where he saw Adeline sit up. He quietly stood up and watched her as she frowned looking at the side beside her.

"Do you feel rested?" Severus asked.

Adeline's frown immediately disappeared as she looked up at Severus and flashed a smile.

"Did I sleep all day?"

Severus nodded, "All through every meal."

Adeline chuckled, "When did you get up?"

"I woke up close to noon."

"The early bird slept in? Wow, I'm impressed. I hope I didn't keep you up all night."

"Would that be a bad thing?" Severus gave a small smile.

"I think it would be quite the opposite." Adeline smiled, only to be interrupted by a low growl. "I think that I might need some food first."

"I'll go and get you some. If you want you can shower while you wait. I'm assuming you wouldn't mind getting out of your outfit from the night before."

Adeline looked down and didn't seem the least embarrassed that her dress was a shirt.

"I wouldn't mind."

"You can borrow one of my shirts in the mean time. At least it will be clean."

"Thank you." Adeline smiled as Severus walked out of his quarters doing his best to not stare at those wonderful creamy looking thighs of hers as he left.

Adeline found her way around his bathroom easily enough and couldn't help but smell his soap as she stood under the hot water. His scent was so wonderfully clean and manly she thought as she worked the soap into a lather and began cleaning herself. It didn't take long for her to clean herself and all she could think about was food, she was so hungry.

As she wrapped a towel around herself she smiled as she heard a noise. Severus was faster than she expected.

"That was fast." Adeline chuckled opening the bathroom door. Adeline stopped and clutched her towel tighter around herself as she stared at a flaming form that seemed to stare right back at her.

"Who are you?" Adeline asked as she slowly made her way to the side table beside Severus' bed to pick up her wand.

The form shook its head at Adeline and stood silently staring back at her with a fire in her eyes.

"You must be Lucy's ghost." Adeline said running through curses in her mind, "What do you want?"

The form stood silently, her stoic facial expression turning into a devious smile, disappearing just as Severus walked back into his quarters with a tray of food and tea.

Adeline felt shaken as she continued to hold her wand so tight her knuckles were turning white. Severus raised an eyebrow of surprise as Adeline pointed her wand at the wall, her already pale skin as white as a sheet.

"Adeline?"

"Lucy's ghost—it was here—just now."

Severus set the tray down and crossed to Adeline, gently lowering her wand with a soothing touch.

"What did it look like?"

"My words wouldn't do it justice. Do you have any charcoal? I could sketch it out."

Severus went into his study and pulled out some parchment along with a piece of charcoal. Severus noticed Adeline's shaking hands as she took the parchment and charcoal with a forced smile. Her eyes and facial expression gave her away. She was frightened.

Adeline rolled her shoulders back as she set the parchment down and started sketching. Her facial expression had changed from frightened to focus in a split second as the charcoal moved with such speed and accurate detail. Severus sat across from her and just watched in silence as she sketched out an exact likeness of the fiery form he had seen in his dreams. Wild hair that seemed like living fire itself, flickering back and forth. Cruel and cold eyes, devoid of any happy emotion yet they were fierce and full of determination. The creature's form was that of a woman, and didn't wear any clothing leaving little to the imagination.

After ten minutes Adeline finished the last details her finger tips now black along with the side of her hand. She sat back, clearly contemplating the sketch of the woman.

"A fire apparition in the form of a woman." Severus said picking up the sketch as Adeline stood up, walking to the bathroom to wash her hands.

Adeline scrubbed her hands, "I asked her what she wanted, and she just smiled at me. Such a creeper smile too."

Severus set the sketch down, unsure if he should tell her about his dream. He decided against it as she came out of the bathroom, her demeanor was defensive and she was already no doubt weak with hunger.

"Sit and eat."

Adeline followed his order and sat at a chair in his study while he set the tray of food in front of her. She daintily picked up a half of a sandwich and took small bites in silence as Severus poured a cup of tea.

"Don't suppose you have anything stronger than that?" Adeline asked quietly.

"I have a bottle of brandy that your Uncle left in my study for me, and apparently a bottle of his favorite scotch."

Adeline gave a small smile, "I'll take the brandy, thanks. Uncle's scotch just tastes like cleaning solution."

Severus' lips curled into a small smile as he opened a drawer and pulled out the bottle of brandy along with two glasses.

"Say when." Severus said as he began to pour the brandy.

"You could just hand me the entire bottle in that case."

Severus shook his head and handed her the half full glass. "Try this first. If you drink the entire bottle on an empty stomach you won't remember the rest of the night."

"I bet you wouldn't particularly enjoy watching over a drunken woman either, considering that particular woman is only wearing a towel."

"I was hoping you wouldn't notice." Severus smirked as he finished pouring his own glass.

Adeline let out a soft chuckle before taking another bite of her sandwich. "Who said I was going to change right away?"

"Well then I guess having a drunken woman in a towel would be the least of my worries."

"Agreed." Adeline nodded, her thoughts turning back to the creature. "What did you do today?"

"This and that." Severus answered casually.

"The Potions Master doesn't just do this and that."

"I was indulging in some light reading today."

"I sure hope you didn't stay in the library all day. Those poor students."

"Aside from scaring the students by even entering the library, I stayed here in my study today."

"Is that so? You weren't being a nasty pervert and watching me sleep all day were you?"

Severus took another sip from his glass, "Perhaps I was and perhaps I wasn't."

Adeline let out a warm laugh, "Well I guess after a heated make out from last night I wouldn't mind you being a bit of a pervert."

"You're quite the pervert yourself. Groping me in my sleep."

Adeline's jaw dropped, "I did no such thing!"

"How would you know? You were sleeping." Severus grinned, enjoying the rosy blush creep across Adeline's cheeks. "It was along with some nice moaning as well. I hope the dream was good."

"Well if I was groping and moaning I imagine the dream was pretty damn good." Adeline huffed helping herself to another sandwich wedge.

Severus continued to smirk, "I hope so."

"You're enjoying this way too much." Adeline glared.

"Aren't you?"

Adeline let out a sigh, "Changing the subject, what were you reading today?" Adeline glanced over at the stack of books scanning over the titles.

"Just reading about magical creatures. I never really paid attention during my classes when I was a boy."

Adeline glanced up knowingly, "I don't believe you for a second. Come on spit it out, what are you hiding?"

Severus tapped his finger against his glass, "How would you know I'm lying?"

"When you tell the truth you seem like its difficult and a chore. Lying comes easily for you and flows off your tongue."

"That's—observant of you."

"I know, aren't I amazing?" Adeline smiled as Severus squirmed a little in his seat. "Take another sip of the brandy; it might make you less uncomfortable."

"Says the woman in a towel."

"Could I make you more uncomfortable by taking it off?"

"I assure you it would be the opposite effect. It could possibly be dangerous as well."

"A man unhinged is equally as dangerous as a woman unhinged."

"Indeed. Have you had enough to eat?" Severus asked changing the subject.

"I think so." Adeline said downing the last of her brandy.

"Good." Severus stood to put her plate back on the tray, enjoying the view of her exposed legs. "Did want to get dressed? Perhaps we could go for a walk around the castle?"

"That sounds appealing."

"Just don't overdo it. You'll probably need to sleep in a couple of hours soon."

"I slept all day, why would I need to sleep more?" Adeline frowned.

Severus didn't reply right away as he watched Adeline turn pulling a shirt of his over her body, letting the towel fall away to the floor. His shirt barely covered her bottom.

Adeline huffed as she grabbed her wand again becoming irritated that his shirt was too tight around her chest. She transfigured it into a long white flowing gown, with long sleeves draping to the ground.

"Much better. Something tells me your figure doesn't exactly match my—voluptuous one." Adeline commented as she walked out of Severus' quarters. Severus smirked as he followed behind for a moment, indulging in the sight of her figure.

They made their way out of the castle and Adeline breathed in the crisp night air. "I would love to say that if I could live in the woods, I would, but I would be a dirty liar. I would hate to live without the necessities."

"Says the witch with a magic wand."

Adeline laughed as she looked over to the woods. "I know I was young when my father died, but I remember when he took me camping with my mom. He told her no magic, and she had to camp like how muggles camp."

Severus glanced over and noticed the sad smile as she continued to look at the forest. "It was a catastrophe. Though my mom was a talented witch, she just did everything wrong. She burned the hot dogs, almost lit the forest on fire and dropped her flashlight in the outhouse." Adeline laughed, "It was the funniest thing because the flashlight was still on and shone straight up. I can only imagine what other campers thought."

Severus laughed, "Your mother did that?"

"Though my mom was a talented witch, she was rather clumsy—amongst other things."

"How much do you remember of her?" Severus asked.

Adeline inhaled, "I remember a lot of fighting. She and my father argued a considerable amount. To be honest it felt like it was every night. And my Uncle thinks I don't remember, but I know it was about me. What about your parents?"

Severus scowled, recalling his own parents. "They were similar to yours. My father was a muggle and my mother was a witch. They argued a lot, usually about the lack of money. I honestly couldn't wait to get away from them and I know they didn't care if I did leave."

Adeline frowned as she turned to Severus, "They didn't care?"

Severus had tensed up considerably, suddenly irritated with the memories that came flooding back in full force.

Adeline smacked herself mentally, that was a stupid thing to ask. Who asks that?

"Severus, I—"

"We shouldn't talk about the past. It's over and done with and we won't get anything out of it."

"That's not true." Adeline frowned. "My past is what has made me who I am today and who you are. Just because it's painful doesn't mean that it's a taboo subject."

"Perhaps it should be." Severus snapped immediately regretting it as he looked towards Adeline. He saw pity in her eyes before quickly averting her gaze.

"You know you can move forward in life and learn from your mistakes. The past is painful but the person you are today pulled through it. Didn't you?"

"I had a friend who kept me sane all through those years." Severus said quietly thinking of his mistake and what it cost him. "I fell in love with her but she fell in love with someone else. I thought it would impress her if I became a Death Eater."

Adeline stood silently, letting his words sink in. "You were a Death Eater?"

Severus took a deep breath as he tried to gauge her reaction.

"You served—Voldemort?" Adeline's veins felt like they had been frozen over suddenly. This man had said he was dangerous. He said he killed people. She knew that he was telling the truth about that, but to become a Death Eater? "You did this to impress a girl?"

"Yes." Severus hung his head, "And it is a mistake that I have to live with every day."

It felt like hours that they stood there in silence, with Adeline's gaze upon him while he looked away out of shame.

"It doesn't matter."

Severus looked up out of shock, "What?"

"I said it doesn't matter." Adeline replied. "First off my Uncle allowed you to live and be a teacher at this school, which means he trusts you. Second off you used to be a Death Eater, who I am assuming, felt and still feels remorse. I can see it on your face, Severus. And if you say I'm mistaken or I'm naïve I swear I will slap your face. Witch or not, I can still use these hands of mine in a fight."

"I think you are the only person I know who is able to lighten the mood so drastically." Severus shook his head.

"It makes you feel better doesn't it?" Adeline smiled looking back at the forest. "You did some shit stuff, Severus. You have to move forward. Looking at the past is one thing, but to brood on it is another. Isn't that something vampires do?"

"Maybe I am a vampire." Severus chuckled, feeling relieved.

"You forget that last night I was pretty much wrapping myself around you, I could feel a pulse." Adeline glanced back seeing a genuine smile spread across Severus' face. "We should continue this conversation later however, I suddenly feel tired again."

"It's been an hour or so. You're right back onto a normal schedule."

"Oh well thank Merlin. I love being old and boring."

"Not to mention reliable." Severus teased.

"Hush it you." Adeline glared as they made their way back up to the castle.

* * *

**Oh it has been a long time since I have updated this story! MANY MANY MANY APOLOGIES! Holiday was very very hectic at work and so was the prepping. I swear Christmas was me just sleeping all day to recuperate from my 15 hour shift from the day before. However, despite all that, you my followers are what keep me going! Thank you for all of your support and your comments! You are my motivation for every chapter. Well...and the steamy goodness of course, because who doesn't love that? **

**Will hopefully be starting the next chapter...now.**

**-Nya**


	9. The Servant

As the leaves started to fall off the trees and the air becoming cooler, Adeline couldn't help but feel exceptionally bored as nothing even remotely eventful happened in the past few weeks. It had been so dull in fact that she even noticed Severus was growing restless. Sure they were flirting with each other on a regular basis now along with some making out, and occasionally making eyes at each other when they passed in the hallway, but Adeline couldn't help but wonder if he was actually willing to take it to the next level. She was even unsure if she wanted to. Her thoughts were conflicted with uncertainty. Normally she would have no problem jumping in for just sex, but she felt this was different, and it kind of scared her from the unknown. She felt like she was jumping the gun and causing unnecessary stress.

Adeline sighed inwardly as she watched her students trying to change a small mouse into a large peacock feather. Though it was an uneventful few weeks she was rolling over Severus' words in her head about becoming a Death Eater to impress his friend who clearly wanted nothing to do with him after he called her that foul name. It wasn't that she was upset with the thought, it was the thought that there was more to his story, and probably more heart break that he didn't want to talk about. This thought also contributed to her conflicting thoughts. It wasn't her own feelings she was worried about.

Adeline was brought back to reality when a student's mouse started running around the room with a rather large pinkish feather sticking out of its bottom and caused some of the girls to scream.

"Settle down, settle down! It's only a mouse." Adeline flicked her wand that froze the mouse still before she levitated it back to one of her students. "A little more focus on the task at hand Mr. Sloan instead of concentrating on other things."

The young second grader with brown hair turned bright red as he failed to conceal a note from the girl who sat in front of him. It even had small little hearts on the paper. Adeline didn't need to embarrass him further, and actually thought it was quite cute that they were passing little love notes to each other.

A peck on the window from a barn owl had managed to distract the entire classroom causing a massive eruption from the girls once again as the mice started to run around. Some looked like a peacock feather with legs, and others were only the color of the feather. Adeline shook her head as she let the owl in and froze all the mice in place. "Everyone pick up your mice. Remember our very first lesson when you came into my class. Focus is everything. When you lose your focus, you pay the price. Continue to practice."

The owl hopped onto a gold perch and dropped a letter into Adeline's hand as she gave it some food and water, gently stroking it as she opened up the letter addressed to her. She opened it up and smiled seeing it was Severus' handwriting.

_Adeline,_

_I believe since nothing is happening, I will start your two weeks of servitude soon. I suggest you get your best granny panties ready._

_-Severus_

Adeline frowned, he didn't have two weeks did he? No, that couldn't be right. They had agreed on one week of him being a manservant and one week of her in her underwear for him. She continued to frown down at the letter as she sat down at her desk, reading it over and over again. He didn't say double or nothing, and he didn't correct her when she said one week of him being a man servant. What a sneaky, sneaky man. She had misunderstood his words and it had worked in his benefit. That meant two weeks of her prancing around in her underwear for him, doing whatever he wanted. Adeline shivered unconsciously as she grabbed a piece of parchment and began writing her reply.

_Severus,_

_When and where would this enticing occasion take place?_

_What color for the granny panties? _

_-Adeline_

Adeline rolled up the parchment and tied it with a piece of string before handing it to the owl and telling it where to go. She noticed that some of her students were eavesdropping and couldn't help put smirk as she flicked her wand toward the whiteboard, and immediately her classroom filled with groans as the homework appeared on the board.

"Have any of you changed your mouse into a peacock feather?" Adeline inquired, folding her arms across her chest.

Her class was silent in reply. "In that case, your homework will be what's on the board. One roll of parchment on the basics of focusing while performing any sort of magic and on the second page I want a list of things that could possibly break ones focus. I expect them on my desk by Monday next week. Class dismissed."

Adeline watched her students leave the room in a grumbling matter and couldn't help but wonder if Severus was starting to rub off on her. She was taking some pleasure in their misery. She never considered herself a bully but she was definitely strict but fair. After the students had left it wasn't for another ten minutes before her next set of students had come in. These students were more experienced as they were in their final year. Luckily for her, these students didn't lose their focus so easily. They were beginning to learn Untransfigurations which was incredibly difficult as you had no idea what the item was originally which made it hard to transform it back. Adeline could remember clearly how difficult it was to do, but these students of hers were getting better every day. On a positive note, they didn't even bother looking up when the same owl had returned to Adeline.

Chuckling inwardly, Adeline took the letter and opened it immediately without sitting down. She couldn't help but grin when she read the words 'Up in your room tonight. Surprise me.' Perhaps it was time to go through her skanky underwear and see what would be appropriate. Well, as appropriate as could be to make that man drool.

Severus hadn't been sleeping for the past few weeks. Dreams of Adeline touching and teasing had been driving him mad with want and then of course would disappear, being replaced with that fire spectral bitch. He had half expected to see the annoying creature or at the most have appeared to Adeline. He had finished every creature book in the library because he was worried but because he found he had time. The students at this school were terrified of him, and made every single effort to not piss him off. Their homework was always on time, and no one ever talked in his class. Although he did enjoy throwing them off occasionally asking questions they couldn't of course know. He found he didn't want to assign any detentions just so he could be around Adeline. Having heated make out sessions in the potions room was as exhilarating as dangerous. They accidentally knocked over a cauldron with a potion brewing that ended up turning the table into a rather large toad. Adeline of course thought it was hilarious when the toad gave a low croak and started hopping around the room, covering the cobblestone in slime.

Severus shook his head at the thought but found it rather amusing once he was finished cleaning slime off of the bottom of his shoes. Regardless the overall mood was ruined and Adeline had retired to her room leaving Severus high and dry. He was in dire need of a release.

It was impulsive when he wrote his note to Adeline. However he had no intention of forcing himself upon her, he had something else completely in mind but hoped that Adeline's sense of humor didn't get the best of her. Granny panties were not Severus' thing.

It wasn't until lunch time that Severus was able to see Adeline. In fact when she sat next to him he swore she had a slight blush creeping across her face.

"I trust you got my note." Severus smirked while he dished up food onto his plate.

"I did. It definitely made things interesting in my class. All my second graders were trying to change mice into peacock feathers, and they all lost their concentration when the owl came."

"I imagine several of the children were screaming."

"Of course they were." Adeline sighed. "Screaming girls mostly, however one boy screamed as well. I almost mistook him for a girl with his scream."

"That does sound like you had an interesting morning."

"Well your note happened to make it more interesting. Although, I can't decide which color I should prance around in first. I'm probably going to have to go shopping seeing as I don't own any granny panties."

"Adeline, why are you talking about panties?" Bodine huffed as he shuffled into the seat next to her. "This is highly inappropriate dining conversation."

"I believe any conversation is appropriate at the dining table. Would you prefer me to talk about toad pus? It's quite slimy you know and excellent for indigestion." Adeline grinned deviously at Bodine who just glared back.

"Go back to talking about panties." He growled before turning his chair a little more to Mrs. Jones.

Adeline sat cutting up some chicken with a large grin across her face. She didn't mind making Bodine uncomfortable, especially if he was going to butt into the conversation.

"I thought he was partially deaf. I'm amazed that he even managed to hear that." Severus chuckled.

"He hears what he wants." Adeline paused, "Honestly, he probably needs to see some granny panties. I can't imagine the last time he's even slept with anyone—on second thought, let's change the subject. Thinking of Bodine boinking some granny actually makes me lose my appetite." Adeline wrinkled her nose as she set her fork and knife down.

"I had a question before we start your servitude."

"Oh?"

"Are there any set rules?"

"Yeah, no anal." Adeline smirked as Severus choked on his drink. "And if I say no, I mean no."

"Fair enough, although I have no intention of anal."

"Ah, such a proper Englishman. I must admit I was surprised when you wrote my room for this blessed occasion."

"I have no intention to bed you—right away." Severus muttered as Davis walked by and clapped both of them on the back before making his way to his seat.

"Is that so? What exactly is your reasoning?"

"Merely that I want to see what your breaking point is."

"Oh? And what of your breaking point?"

"I know how to handle myself. I'm the master of patience."

Adeline laughed, "The master of patience? We'll see about that. I bet I can crack you within the first week."

"I bet I can crack you in three days."

Adeline let out a gasp, slightly insulted, "Oh you're on, tough boy. You won't even be able to contain yourself when you see these granny panties."

"We'll see." Severus grinned as he watched Adeline go back to eating her food in silence.

It wasn't until after classes that Adeline had decided to go to the closest Victoria Secret. No offense to witches or wizards alike, but their underwear was a little too peculiar. She had remembered going to the lingerie store in Jinxpoint Market and found it horribly old fashioned. When it came to witches and wizards, they were a little behind on the fashions.

As she cleaned up her classroom, her thoughts were interrupted by Bodine.

"Ah, Bodine. To what do I owe this pleasure?"

"Save the pleasantries, Adeline. We need to talk about your relationship with Mr. Prince."

Adeline frowned as she turned to fully face him, "Excuse me?"

"It would shame this school if you were caught sleeping with another teacher."

"How?" Adeline asked, crossing her arms out of displeasure of the situation.

"What happens when things go wrong? The students here aren't dumb, they will catch on quickly. It wouldn't surprise me if some of them already haven't."

"What happens when things go wrong?" Adeline repeated, tapping her finger on her arm to refrain from blowing something up. "Honestly Bodine, I don't see how this situation is any of your concern. First and foremost, this school is my home, and me shaking my tail feather wouldn't slander this school in anyway shape or form. Second, if I was sleeping around I would be very careful not to do it in the public eye."

"You are Davis' niece. You are in the public eye. The American Ministry watches this school like a hawk after what happened in Europe with the Dark Lord."

"So you're saying that the American Ministry watches people have sex, and compares it to the Dark Arts?"

"No, you foolish girl! I'm saying that if anything messes up here at the school, your Uncle Davis pays the price!"

Adeline rolled her eyes, "Are you quite finished being dramatic? You've become paranoid with your age. Bells Academy hasn't even rolled out a dark wizard in the last century."

"That we know of." Bodine growled before turning to walk out of the classroom, "Just don't do anything stupid."

"Oh I promise to not shake my ass in front of the entire school." Adeline yelled, waving him off angrily before grabbing her own things and heading to her living quarters. She took deep breaths the entire way up, focusing on not losing her temper anywhere near the students. It was important that they didn't see her temper flare.

She had managed to make it to her room before lunging herself onto her bed, exploding a rather large pillow full of feathers. Adeline pinched the bridge of her nose out of frustration and counted back from ten.

"It's okay Adeline, he's just a cranky old man who hasn't had sex in decades. He just wants to spoil your fun." Adeline said out loud as feathers drifted across the room.

Sighing Adeline got up from her bed and magically put the feather back into the pillow. If she and Severus were going to have any fun tonight, it was going to be without a blizzard of feathers. Plus they made her sneeze.

Adeline changed into a pair of dark denim jeans and a black turtleneck. If she was going to a Victoria Secret she was going to need to look like a muggle. She grabbed a purse and put a few hundred dollars worth of muggle cash into a wallet before sliding her wand into an invisible holster around her waist. She normally never had a problem shopping in the muggle world but she knew some people couldn't help but try to steal ladies purses.

It didn't take Adeline very long to pick out some lingerie. In fact she might have bought most of the store, taking one of everything. She certainly made the ladies who were working that evening happy. Once no one was around she stuffed her purse with several bags of goodies so she didn't have to carry so many bags. Thank Merlin for magic; how muggles carry around so much, Adeline would never understand.

Adeline made it back in time for dinner, and couldn't help but glare at Bodine as she joined the other teachers at the table.

"Is everything alright?" Severus asked as Adeline sat down next to him.

"It's fine. Just some people sticking their noses in other people's business where it doesn't belong." Adeline glared at Bodine once more before turning her attention to the meal that was spread out before her. She helped herself to a glass of wine to ease some of her irritation.

"What did the cranky old man say?"

Adeline shook her head, "Tarnishing the reputation of the school by sleeping with you. Honestly, it was the most asinine conversation I've had so far this year."

"Well don't let it ruin your evening. He's full of rubbish anyway."

"That was the most British thing I've ever heard. Say it again." Adeline grinned causing Severus to raise an eyebrow.

"He's full of rubbish? Is it really that British?"

"Well I'm sure Canadians say it too, but that word, rubbish, we don't say rubbish."

"What do Americans say then?"

"He's full of shit." Adeline replied without missing a beat.

"Oh yes, that is much more eloquent than rubbish."

"It is more eloquent than rubbish. It honestly doesn't do him any justice. Shit on the other hand does."

"Your American ways are so very attractive." Severus raised his eyebrow noticing Adeline had now gone through another glass of wine.

"I do love sarcasm. It is such a turn on."

Severus chuckled, "Perhaps we should continue this conversation later so you can actually start eating."

"That might be a good idea; the wine is starting to give me a buzz."

After dinner Adeline went back up to her room and started a bubble bath to unwind from the day. Everyone had their Monday ritual when they came home from work. Some get right to cooking dinner, others sit for an hour in front of the television, some made cookies, but Adeline had a bubble bath every Monday, conjuring little floating stars or galaxies to provide some light in the darkness. She poured in a blend of lavender and vanilla oils into the water to make her skin soft and luxurious. Plus she really enjoyed how the bubbles foamed higher than the bath tub.

She rubbed a special blue liquid all over her legs before proceeding into the bathtub. If she was going to be sitting in lingerie for Severus' enjoyment she was going to at least going to have smooth and satiny legs. As a witch she had already magically removed the hair under her armpit, but found it could be a painful procedure that only took one hour in comparison to what the muggles had to go through. Thankfully, new magical oil was invented that you only had to put on once a month, immediately stopping the growth of hair for a month.

Adeline let out a small moan as sat in the hot water. The hot water felt amazing and instantly relaxed her body as she leaned back, resting her head against the edge of the tub. She was trying to convince herself that she wasn't nervous about the first evening. She was failing miserably as she tried thinking of the most inane things possible to calm her nerves. In the end she just managed to bore herself and was still stressed out. Adeline pulled at one of her long curls and stared at it emptying her head. She looked at the bright red color with highlights of orange. Her Uncle often called her his little firecracker. Her hair when it was in loose waves reminded her of a dancing flame in the wind. Blazing hot fire.

Adeline snapped back to reality feeling like someone was watching her suddenly, whispering something. Frowning Adeline looked around the room, seeing nothing but the floating stars she had conjured earlier. She leaned over the side, grabbing her wand and whispering Lumos. The room lit up instantly and still Adeline saw no one there.

"I must be going crazy." Adeline sighed as she set her wand down and dunked her head under the water.

Her bath did nothing to ease her mind she thought bitterly as she dried herself off before putting on some lotion. She looked over at the lingerie that she had planned to wear tonight. It was a whim that she had decided to buy this set. It was dramatic, and meant for a fashion show by the looks of it. Adeline put on the silky thong that came with it as she magically applied her mascara and some lipstick. The black silk teddy was the last to be put on. It showed off her stomach but draped its way down to the floor like a train on a dress. Adeline stared at herself in the mirror. She frowned at her curled hair thinking it was just too much before magically making subtle waves. A soft knock at the door had Adeline's stomach doing small flips.

Severus had let himself in half expecting Adeline to be having a shower or getting ready. What he saw surprised him, leaving him speechless at the sinful siren that stood before him. The contrast between the black and her pale skin stood out considerably. His mouth went dry as he looked her up. The dark silk hid her wonderful curves but showed off her wonderful thighs. She was exposed, and her outfit left little to the imagination, even if the teddy seemed to create the most magnificent cleavage. She was breath taking with her hair cascading down her body in loose waves.

"Uh." Adeline broke the silence first. "This is just downright embarrassing. I honestly have no idea what I should do."

Severus watched as a deep set blush spread across Adeline's cheeks.

"Well, I would assume that I need to give you something to do." Severus said casually taking a step forward. Adeline seemed extremely nervous, taking a step back. The arrogant and forthright Adeline had been turned into a scampering rabbit.

"Get out your sketching supplies."

Adeline nodded grabbing her wand from a side table and flicking it. Her sketching supplies came floating out and set itself down in the middle of the room.

"What am I going to be sketching, Severus?"

"Me."

Adeline let out a snort, "Like some kind of Titanic thing?"

"I am not a ship."

"Hah, no. I mean the movie called Titanic. The main character Jack sketches a nude drawing of Rose."

"I won't be nude for the first drawing." Severus said sitting across from where Adeline stood on a fairly comfortable while couch.

"For the first drawing? How many drawings will I be doing?" Adeline inquired as she sat with her sketch book in hand.

"However many you think you can take."

Adeline rolled her eyes as Severus sat up straight. "Well, at least get yourself comfortable. It will be a boring sketch if you just sit there stiff as a board. Lounge or something."

Severus was nervous as well, though he didn't show it like Adeline. He sat back against the couch, crossing a leg over the other.

"So this is how you're going to crack me is it?" Adeline asked feeling rather smug but still aware that she was very exposed.

"I have a plan."

"Care to share your plan with the class."

"You'll figure it out. You're a smart woman."

"Gee thanks." Adeline said watching him as he looked back at her. His gaze was alarming. She could tell he liked what she was wearing. A lion about to eat a gazelle; however instead of pouncing he was just watching her. His eyes were focused and heated occasionally looking up and down in a languid fashion. His straight hair had grown recently, nearly reaching his shoulders, she noticed as she began drawing his face. He looked completely different from when she met him. He looked more at ease, and less sickly. He wore what looked like the same thing every day. Black trousers and black robes with a high collared shirt and jacket underneath.

She had drawn him for nearly an hour before she said she was finished the drawing. Severus took a look at it, marveling at Adeline's gift before wishing her a goodnight and leaving her quarters. Adeline sat mystified unable to think of what Severus had in store for the next two weeks. If she was going to make him crack she was going to have to try harder. Although perhaps he had noticed how nervous she was and didn't want her to feel scared.

The next evening Adeline had put on dark blue halter baby doll, and Severus had once again asked Adeline to grab her sketching supplies and had sat on the couch, but this time had removed his robe. Adeline had dropped her pencil several times, bending over or parting her legs. If Severus was interested, he was good at keeping himself composed, however his eyes gave him away. She could see the desire boiling under him. Once she had finished the drawing she had showed it to him, but before he could leave she pulled him into a kiss. Severus held Adeline's waist as she stood on her tip toes, her hot mouth pushing against his. He pulled away after a moment, kissing her once more before saying good night and leaving her to her thoughts.

This happened for the next two weeks, where Severus would remove a piece of clothing, bit by bit becoming more exposed until one evening he only had his high collared shirt and his black boxers. Adeline had busted out all the stops wearing a purple lace merry widow with garters attached to the lace topped stockings that sat mid thigh along with sinfully high purple heels.

"Mind if I ask you a question?" Adeline asked as she sat with her legs tucked in a rather lady like way as her sketchbook sat on her lap.

Severus continued to stand as he began taking off the various layers. "Go ahead."

"Why leave your shirt second to last?"

Severus continued to strip until it was just his boxers and shirt again before he answered, "I should think you would have already figured it out."

"Well I came to the conclusion of you being self conscious about your chest or something to that extent, but I don't know why."

"I'll show you why." Severus hesitated as he began unbuttoning his shirt.

Adeline sat patiently seeing a shimmer of something on Severus' neck. Once he removed his shirt completely Adeline could see the large silver scars across his neck. She put her sketchbook down and walked over to him. He refused to look at her, instead looked to the side as she stood next to him. Slowly she brushed her finger across the scars, looking closely at them.

"Puncture marks." Adeline whispered as her heart raced with dread in her stomach. A set of puncture marks were right where his jugular was. "These aren't vampire marks. They are too far apart."

"It was a snake."

"Whose?"

"Voldemort's."

"He tried to have you killed." Adeline said softly.

"He nearly did." Severus said taking Adeline's hand. "I was ready to accept death however it was a letter from your Uncle with a special potion that I had to take at least an hour in advance. It was a remarkable potion that he gave me, however his letter was misleading. I was certain his letter had said that the potion would make the pain go away, and it would be like falling asleep."

"My Uncle sent you a letter?"

"He owed a wizard that I knew a favor."

"Why are you self conscious about them?"

"Aside from these hideous scars? I'm not exactly a handsome man already." Severus asked raising an eyebrow.

Adeline frowned shaking her head, "That's not how I feel."

Severus felt his heart lurch forward as Adeline's lips pressed gently against his neck. It was beautifully tender, so much that Severus was speechless as he closed his eyes. He pulled Adeline closer, wanting more of those soft butterfly kisses that fluttered across his scars and up his jaw. Those gentle and small hands brushed lazy circles up his back, igniting an ache for more within Severus.

Adeline took his hand leading him to her bed, sitting him down and cupping his face in her hands. Leaning forward Adeline pressed her lips against his. It was soft and yielding as her fingertips trailed into his hair, pushing her body against him. Severus groaned as he wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her into his lap to deepen the kiss. A moan erupted from both of them as Severus' tongue stroked the inside of her mouth, aching to dance with hers.

Adeline's head was spinning as his wonderful tongue swirled around hers. The spinning increased as Severus' hands trailed up her legs only to stop at her thighs to play with the edge of her stockings, tormenting her more by going back down her legs. His touch made her skin ache, and only increased her desire for more. Severus held onto her as the couple fell back onto the bed with a clunk noise of Adeline's shoes falling off. Severus rolled Adeline onto her back while he gently nuzzled her neck, occasionally nipping softly on her ear.

Arching up against him, Adeline could feel the throbbing heat pushing against her. She felt feverish as his hands stroked down her curves. Swallowing almost nervously Adeline took in a breath as Severus released her stockings from the outfit's garters, gently rolling the stockings down her legs, kissing wherever his fingers met her skin. Adeline shivered against his touch as his hands found the zipper to the barrier that was blocking him. His eyes were dark with desire as they locked with Adeline's. Her body shivered with anticipation as he slowly pulled the zipper down. Adeline's heart hammered in her chest as the zipper clicked, now released from its other side. Severus continued to watch her as he trailed a finger along the naked skin where the zipper was. It was painfully slow as Severus peeled the outfit away from her body revealing inch by inch her pale skin.

Severus' desire roared as he pulled the outfit away. He couldn't take his eyes off her luscious curves and her wonderful breasts. Hungry to taste her he flicked his tongue over her nipple causing it to harden into a peak. Severus dipped his head lower, sucking her hardened nipple into his mouth, teasing her as his tongue continued to swirl and flick at her.

"Severus." She whimpered softly as she arched up against him.

Her arousal was filling the air as Severus continued to assault her breasts with blissful pleasure, pushing his hand underneath her panties and finding her ready and wanting. Abandoning her nipple, Severus trailed wet kisses down her stomach to her thighs, feasting his eyes on a small triangle of red curls and her slick folds. He wanted to satisfy her on every level. He needed her to tremble with need and scream his name. Severus positioned himself, kissing the curls all the way to her sensitive nub causing Adeline to gasp.

"Severus! Wait! You don't have to do that!"

"I want to do this." Severus all but growled before flicking his tongue against her, causing her breath to halt and her hips to arch up against his hot mouth. Severus pressed his mouth against her, lapping at her exquisite juices and exploring her wet folds.

Adeline clenched the bed sheets as Severus' tongue penetrated her, wiggling its way inside as his hand played with one of her nipples, rolling the hardened peak between his fingers. The pleasure was almost too much to handle as Adeline began to quiver with ecstasy.

Feeling her clench up, Severus slowed his motion, he didn't want her to have release without him. He kissed his way back up to her mouth, branding her with a searing kiss as he rested himself on her. With a slow, deliberate motion, Severus grinded himself against her, swallowing her gasp as her fingers dug into his skin.

"Severus, please!" Adeline whined, wiggling her hips upwards.

"Please, what?" Severus asked using his thumb to circle her nipple.

Adeline growled as he gave her a small tug, "I need you inside me! Now!"

Severus smirked as he stood up and pulled his boxers off, allowing his throbbing erection to spring free. He made a low growl in his throat as he gently parted her legs and rested the head at her wet entrance. Moaning, Adeline rocked her hips towards him, all but begging for more.

Sucking in a breath Severus pushed himself into her liquid heat with a slow motion, eliciting a soft cry from Adeline as he filled her. Severus held her close as he continued to slowly sink deeper into her, focusing on the hum of her skin and the scent of her perfume.

"I'm not hurting you am I?" Severus asked taking another breath.

"It's okay. I'm just not used to uh—this much."Adeline moaned as he completely buried himself.

"I'll do my best to go slow."

With slow, deep strokes, Adeline arched up against Severus, fisting her hands into his hair. He was careful not to hurt her as he continued to worship her body but he was getting closer with each stroke as her warm sheath clamped him like a luscious vise. He withdrew causing Adeline to whine with despair. He sat up and pulled her into his lap before plunging himself deep inside.

"Severus!" Adeline rasped wrapping her legs around his waist, raking her nails down his back.

She clenched his throbbing member as her hips rocked back and forth, causing him to stroke her innermost walls. Her body began to tremble as he gripped her hips, plunging himself deeper, rocking her back and forth, closer and closer to release. He needed this, this blinding and all consuming fire.

"Faster, Severus, faster!" Adeline begged. Severus' fingers bit into her hips harder as he steadily pumped himself into her.

Adeline cried out Severus' name as her body exploded with a wave of pleasure. She saw nothing but stars as her body quivered, each wave rolling through her body, sucking Severus deeper.

"Adeline!" Severus moaned as he gave one hard final thrust, pouring himself deep inside. Adeline and Severus fell onto the bed exhausted. Their pants filled the room along with smell of sweat and heated lovemaking. Severus held Adeline close to him, lightly stroking her mass amount of curls.

"I win." Adeline whispered as she tried to catch her breath.

"I would like to think we both win."

"Probably." Adeline agreed as she curled up against him. "So I would like to congratulate you by the way."

"For what?"

"For being the first man to ever get me to orgasm."

Severus' eyes went wide, "What? Are you saying your previous lovers never—"

"Not once." Adeline chuckled, "Mind you, Severus, you are very well endowed. You know how to rock the boat."

A small smile crept across Severus' lips as Adeline looked up at him, "Are you ready for round two?"

"Bring it on! I don't need to walk tomorrow." Adeline chuckled.

* * *

**Holey macaroni's! It has been a long time since I wrote smut. I feel kinda...rusty. Don't laugh don't laugh, for the love of science don't laugh! I feel like I should be reading some smutty romance books, but all I can do is read this tumblr called 50 shades of suck, and instead of being inspired I can't help but feel like it's really really cheesy with some bow chica wow wow porn music in the background. Maybe my smut is like that? Bow chica wow wow. **

**Thank you for being patient everyone and thank you very very much for following me and leaving reviews! It keeps me going!**

**-Nya**


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